Are you sleep deprived?
You may think you’re fine — until you take this test! Answer true or false to the following statements.
- I need an alarm clock to wake up at the appropriate time.
- It’s a struggle for me to get out of bed in the morning.
- Weekday mornings I hit the snooze button several times to get more sleep.
- I feel tired, irritable and stressed-out during the week.
- I have trouble concentrating and remembering.
- I feel slow with critical thinking, problem solving and being creative.
- I often fall asleep watching TV.
- I often fall asleep in boring meetings or lectures or in warm rooms.
- I often fall asleep after heavy meals or after a low dose of alcohol.
- I often fall asleep while relaxing after dinner.
- I often fall asleep within five minutes of getting into bed.
- I often feel drowsy while driving.
- I often sleep extra hours on weekend mornings.
- I often need a nap to get through the day.
- I have dark circles around my eyes.
If you answered true to three or more of the 15 statements, you’re probably not getting enough sleep.
11 results of sleep deprivation
You may experience some or all of these drops in daily performance if you’re sleep deprived:
- Daytime drowsiness: Usually hits during the mid-afternoon trough, when energy drops.
- Microsleeps: Brief episodes of sleep that last a few seconds at a time and can result in accidents and death.
- Sleep seizures: Unintended longer episodes of sleep that occur as rapidly as a seizure, without warning, in a severely sleep-deprived individual.
- Mood shifts: Can include depression, increased irritability and loss of your sense of humor.
- Stress, anxiety and loss of coping skills: Overwhelming feelings of not being able to cope, even with simple problems or moderate workloads.
- Lack of interest in socializing with others: Desire to disengage from the outside world.
- Weight gain: Drinking beverages and eating foods high in sugar to help you stay awake.
- Feeling chilled: Often the result of trying to stay awake very late at night after the circadian rhythm ebbs, causing body temperature to plummet.
- Reduced immunity to disease and viral infection: Immune cells stop functioning as sleep deprivation increases.
- Feelings of lethargy: Loss of motivation to do tasks or try new endeavors.
- Reduced productivity: Occurs in such areas as the ability to concentrate, remember, handle complex tasks, think logically, assimilate and analyze new information, and think critically. Also, reduced decision making skills, vocabulary and communication skills, creativity, motor skills and coordination, and perceptual skills.
Source: Arizona Republic Newspapers in "Sleep Well' section.
This quiz is for entertainment purposes only. Please consult a doctor if you feel you may have a sleep deprivation issue.
