Sleep deprivation affects millions of people around the world. Long-term lack of sleep can lead to very serious health problems. A 2000 study conducted by the University of California in San Diego showed that the activities of the brain’s prefrontal cortex increased due to sleep deprivation. The research also indicated that the brain region called temporal lobe, which is responsible for language processing, is activated during a verbal learning session among respondents who were well-rested. Those who lacked sleep showed little activity in this brain region. The Harvard Medical Institute also published its research in 2001 about the possible links of sleep deprivation to heart disease.
Clearly, to avoid the hazardous effects of long-term sleep deprivation, a person must do one thing: get some sleep. A person who suffers from lack of sleep or even insomnia often resort to the use of sleeping pills. Others take sleeping pills when traveling since the difference in time zones cause jet lag and the alteration of sleeping patterns.
Lack of sleep, apparently a very common malady in different parts of world, has become a source of enormous profit for the drug...