Understanding what sleep deprivation symptoms are and how to spot them is important to your health. Sleep affects much more than most people realize and if you are not getting enough you could be setting yourself up for a host of health risks or even putting your life in danger. Here's what to look for.

One of the most common and easily identifiable sleep deprivation symptoms is that of drowsiness or daytime fatigue. We all intuitively understand that if we don't get enough sleep we're not recharged and therefore are tired the next day. The more we get little to no sleep the worse that fatigue is for us.

Another of the signs of sleep deprivation is a reduction in memory and mental performance. When we are low on sleep the brain suffers. The ability to process mental tasks as well as access and form memory is hindered. If we go without sleep for long enough then it can become serious to the point where tasks can be dangerous. Studies on sleep have shown that driving while suffering from a lack of sleep is similar to driving while under the influence. It is estimated that tens of thousands of car accidents happen each year due to sleepiness. Also like being under the influence we sometimes give ourselves credit for more control and awareness then we really have when we are tired.

There are behavioral effects of sleep deprivation as well. Sleepiness can affect the levels of brain chemicals at work which in turn can alter our mood and mental state. People who are suffering from a lack of sleep can often develop forms of anxiety and other adverse mental states. It also lowers your ability to deal with stress.

The behavioral effects of sleep deprivation can extend into a negative outlook on life and even sink into full fledged depression. This becomes a vicious cycle as depression often creates insomnia which produces more sleep deprivation that increases the depression. Getting out of this cycle once it starts is hard.

Sleep deprivation symptoms can also include increased illness. Sleep helps recharge the immune system. When we don't get enough sleep our immune system loses effectiveness and has a harder time fighting off illness. Our bodies are more easily overrun. This results not only in more frequent illnesses but longer recovery time as well. If you are noticing that you are sick more often or that you take longer to get over an illness than you used to then it may be that you aren't getting enough sleep.

One website on sleep deprivation quoted a 1999 study that showed glucose metabolism is reduced when we lack sleep. This produces symptoms similar to the beginning stages of diabetes. Improper processing of glucose drastically impacts a host of bodily functions from immune system to brain function to energy levels and a whole lot in between.

Hopefully by knowing and understanding some of the sleep deprivation symptoms you can be better prepared to recognize the problem in yourself or someone you know. Sleep is more critical for our health than many realize and research shows that between 25% and 30% of Americans suffer from sleeplessness...and the numbers are growing. This is becoming a serious problem. If you find that you or someone close to you is dealing with a lack of sleep then it is urgent to have them (or you) get help quickly.