Masters 1

Haley Masters

ENG 1102

Sandra Riley

05 July 2020

While researching the many questions I had regarding how sleep affects the brains and

lives of human beings, I have found that the sources mainly line up and contain a lot of the same

facts and information. An idea that is repeated throughout the sources is the fact that when there

is a lack of sleep, we tend to have less control over our emotions and anger. It is also said that

sleep loss is associated with feeling more depressed, irritable, and hostile towards others.

“Getting enough shuteye helps with mood and emotion regulation, so you might feel cranky,

irritable, or emotionally out of sorts if you don’t snooze enough.” This quote goes to show how

much something as simple as getting enough sleep can affect the mood and attitude of a person.

Another point that is repeated throughout multiple of my sources is the effects that sleep can

have on a person’s ability to focus, pay attention or learn anything new. “Because you can’t

focus as well, it’s more difficult to pick up information, so you can’t learn efficiently. It also

affects memory, which is essential to learning.” It has been proven that without sleep, a human's

mental, emotional, and physical health will suffer.

There are some sources that state six hours of sleep is adequate for people to fully

function normally the next day, while others suggest that seven to nine hours of quality sleep

would be considered sufficient for us. One of the articles suggests that your health and immunity

is affected by the amount of sleep you get daily. “If you get less than seven hours of sleep,

you’re 2.94 times more likely to develop a cold.” This statistic shows that sleep does in fact
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impact how you feel health wise. Sleep gives your body the time that is needed to cleanse,

stabilize, and heal itself.

In conclusion of my research, I have found that sleep does in fact affect us in our

everyday life and have learned many of the facts stating why behind it. The amount of sleep you

get per night can heavily influence your overall outlook on life, energy levels throughout the day,

motivation, and even our emotions. I learned that about ⅓ of Americans get less than seven

hours of sleep per night. I don’t believe that sleep is prioritized correctly for a lot of people and

for others work may have to come first which could affect their ability to do their job. I would

like to research and look farther into the reasoning of why it is not prioritized for a third of

Americans.

Works Cited

“How Losing Sleep Affects Your Body and Mind.” Sleep.org, 23 Jan. 2020,

www.sleep.org/articles/how-losing-sleep-affects-your-body-mind/.

“Sleep Deprivation: The Effects on Mind and Body.” Mental Health America,

mhanational.org/blog/sleep-deprivation-effects-mind-and-body.

Peri, Camille. “Sleepiness: Cognitive and Emotional Effects.” WebMD, WebMD, 30 Apr.

2013, www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/emotions-cognitive.
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“The Complex Relationship Between Sleep, Depression & Anxiety.” Sleep Foundation,

www.sleepfoundation.org/excessive-sleepiness/health-impact/complex-relationship-

between-sleep-depression-anxiety.

“The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Workplace Behavior .” Shibboleth Authentication

Request, eds-a-ebscohost-com.sinclair.ohionet.org/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=13.