Stage 4 sleep deprivation is when you have not slept for 3 days or 72 hours and have had 72 hours or 3 hours of continuous wakefulness, which represents a severe state of sleep loss.
At stage 4 sleep deprivation, your brain begins to struggle to differentiate between reality and imagination, which often results in a state that is similar to that of psychosis.
The symptoms of stage 4 sleep deprivation are hallucinations, delusions and disordered thinking, extreme fatigue, microsleeps, emotional instability and paranoia.
Visual, auditory or even tactile hallucinations are common in stage 4 sleep deprivation, like seeing shadows or hearing things that are not there.
An inability to think logically, poor decision making and profound confusion as well as an uncontrollable, intense urge to sleep and frequent, involuntary, brief moments of sleep that last for a few seconds are also common in stage 4 sleep deprivation.
Also high levels of anxiety, irritability and paranoia and increased feelings of distrust or fear also are common when you have stage 4 sleep deprivation.
The four symptoms of sleep deprivation are reduced physical performance, mood instability, difficulty concentrating and excessive daytime fatigue or constant tiredness.
When you're sleep deprived you often experience reduced physical performance, including poor coordination and slowed reaction times as well as increased irritability, depression and or anxiety, poor memory and brain fog.
Experiencing microsleeps, which are involuntarily falling asleep for seconds, increased appetite and lowered immunity are also signs of sleep deprivation.
Lack of sleep and sleep deprivation, affects nearly every organ in the body, although lack of sleep and sleep deprivation, mainly impacts and affects your brain and your cardiovascular system, which includes your heart and blood vessels.
Lack of sleep and sleep deprivation hampers your cognitive functions, which includes learning, memory, decision making and regulation of emotions.
Not getting enough sleep and sleep deprivation also disrupts your glymphatic system, which cleans out toxic waste products like amyloid-beta, which is also linked to Alzheimer's disease.
Chronic sleep deprivation and lack of sleep is also linked strongly to high blood pressure or hypertension, heart disease, stroke and even increased inflammation in the body, as your body misses the restorative low pressure resting state.
Your gut is also a major site of damage, when you lack sleep, as it causes reactive oxygen species or ROS to accumulate and leads to leaky gut or gastrointestinal damage.
And poor sleep is also linked strongly to non alcoholic fatty liver disease and can also lead to damage in your liver cells.
Sleep deprivation and lack of sleep also inhibits the production of cytokines and antibodies, which make your body more susceptible to infections and reduces your body's ability to fight off illnesses.
Lack of sleep and sleep deprivation also disrupts hormone levels, "rising ghrelin, falling leptin", which leads to increased appetite, insulin resistance and weight gain as well as a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes.
You can tell if you're sleep deprived by the signs and symptoms which include daytime sleepiness, persistent fatigue, slow reaction times, irritability, poor memory and concentration, hallucinations and increased risk of accidents.
Hallucinations and not being able to concentrate often occur when you experience a severe lack sleep or sleep deprivation
Severe, lack of sleep and severe sleep deprivation can result in microsleeps, which are involuntary naps, increased risk of accidents and hallucinations and the symptoms of lack of sleep often begin as mild symptoms, like increased hunger and morning exhaustion.
Your eyes can also look bloodshot and be swollen and red from a lack of sleep and you may also experience low energy, frequent yawning, muscle aches, feel more hungry than normal and have a weak immune system, which can lead to frequent illnesses like colds.
Sleep deprived eyes will look like they are swollen, red and tired.
Sleep deprived eyes and eyes when you have a lack of proper sleep also lead to the appearance of dark circles, puffy eyelids and sagging skin.
When you're sleep deprived and lack sleep, your eyes may also appear to be bloodshot as a result of dilated blood vessels and they may feel dry or itchy.
And you may also experience some involuntary twitching or spasms when you are lacking sleep.
Not getting enough sleep, not only affects your overall health and ability to function in the day, but it also can affect the look of your eyes and cause you to become dizzy and even cause blurry vision.
When you don't get enough sleep, the lack of sleep also causes blood vessels under the thin skin of your eyes to constrict, which then results in a dark, bruised appearance, also known as dark circles.
Without enough sleep, fluid also accumulates in the delicate skin tissues around your eye, which also leads to edema, also known as swelling, which results in puffy eyes.
And the lack of sleep or insufficient sleep also triggers inflammation and causes the tiny blood vessels in your eyes to dilate, which makes your eyes appear red.
And reduced collagen production from a lack of sleep or insufficient sleep can also cause the skin around your eyes to sag and cause your eyelids to droop.
And your eyes might also produce less tears, which lead to dryness, irritation and sensitivity to light when you don't get enough sleep.
Lack of sleep also can result in overstimulated muscles from fatigue, which often results in involuntary eyelid twitches also called myokymia.
Lack of sleep and poor sleep quality can also lead to temporary vision issues, like blurry vision or difficulty focusing.
Getting at lest 7 to 9 hours of quality sleep consistently is important for your overall health and your eye health including vision.