Final answer:
Sleep deprivation disrupts the circadian rhythm, leading to a mismatch with the external environment, and causes multiple psychological and physiological consequences including increased stress, blood pressure, and cognitive impairments. Bright light exposure can help realign the circadian rhythm.
Step-by-step explanation:
Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Circadian Rhythm
Sleep deprivation can significantly disrupt a person's circadian rhythm, which is the natural internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle and repeats roughly every 24 hours. When an individual experiences sleep loss, it can lead to a mismatch between their internal circadian cycles and the external environment, causing symptoms such as fatigue, irritability, and insomnia.
Sleep debt accumulates with consistent lack of sleep, leading to further cognitive and physiological deteriorations, such as decreased mental alertness, increased stress hormones, higher blood pressure, and reduced immune function. Chronic sleep deprivation could even result in depression-like symptoms, obesity, and in severe cases, effects akin to alcohol intoxication. To realign our biological clocks with the external environment, exposure to bright light during waking hours and darkness during resting hours can be beneficial, as our biological clock is driven by light exposure.
Important for regulating sleep-wake cycles is the hormone melatonin, which is released in response to darkness and helps cue the body for rest. However, in the case of prolonged sleep deprivation, individuals can experience a range of adverse effects, from irritability and difficulty in maintaining wakefulness to impairments in cognitive function.