Saturday, November 06, 2004
Can You Die of Sleep Deprivation?
Most of you probably know I am going to school full-time and working 24 hours per week. Here is kinda what my schedule looks like:
Tuesdays: class 8am to 5pm
Wednesday: class 11am to 3pm
Thursday: work 6:30pm to 7:30am
Friday: work 6:30pm to 7:30am
Now, if you didn't catch that, I am sleeping during a "normal night" at least two days a week and staying up all night and sleeping all day at least three nights per week. I used to *love* working night shifts. I still do for the most part. But living in constantly evolving jet lag is making me physically ill. This is just not right.
I am having hot flashes that wake me up during the days I try to sleep. I get so hot, I feel like my skin is on fire. My blood sugar drops so low, because my pancreas keeps getting mixed up as to when it's suppose to produce insulin. I mean, one day I am eating at "normal meal hours" the next day, I sleep through the "normal meal hours" and am then eating a large meal at 2am. I am starting to worry that I am physically incapabable of maintaining this schedule. And I've still got another year and seven months to go! Yikes! Thank god for winter break in December.
So, I started to wonder... can someone die of sleep deprivation? The answer is yes, both humans and animals will die if they are deprived of sleep. I refuse to refer to actual research or reference sites because any and all research done on the subject whether on people or animals has been completely inhumane. And I can appreciate just how inhumane it is to deprive someone of sleep. I am feeling rather tortured by lack of sleep myself at the moment.
Working night shifts, when I could keep my same night shift hours on my days off was a perfect dream. This new back and forth business... well, it's not even for the birds.
Tuesdays: class 8am to 5pm
Wednesday: class 11am to 3pm
Thursday: work 6:30pm to 7:30am
Friday: work 6:30pm to 7:30am
Now, if you didn't catch that, I am sleeping during a "normal night" at least two days a week and staying up all night and sleeping all day at least three nights per week. I used to *love* working night shifts. I still do for the most part. But living in constantly evolving jet lag is making me physically ill. This is just not right.
I am having hot flashes that wake me up during the days I try to sleep. I get so hot, I feel like my skin is on fire. My blood sugar drops so low, because my pancreas keeps getting mixed up as to when it's suppose to produce insulin. I mean, one day I am eating at "normal meal hours" the next day, I sleep through the "normal meal hours" and am then eating a large meal at 2am. I am starting to worry that I am physically incapabable of maintaining this schedule. And I've still got another year and seven months to go! Yikes! Thank god for winter break in December.
So, I started to wonder... can someone die of sleep deprivation? The answer is yes, both humans and animals will die if they are deprived of sleep. I refuse to refer to actual research or reference sites because any and all research done on the subject whether on people or animals has been completely inhumane. And I can appreciate just how inhumane it is to deprive someone of sleep. I am feeling rather tortured by lack of sleep myself at the moment.
Working night shifts, when I could keep my same night shift hours on my days off was a perfect dream. This new back and forth business... well, it's not even for the birds.
Comments:
That sounds so tough! Do you get any insomnia from the different bedtimes, or are you one of those people who falls asleep anywhere anytime? Note: I have problems with insomnia...and that's with a regular schedule!
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