What are the effects of long-term sleep deprivation?

Effects of Sleep Deprivation?

• For the past few weeks, I've been severely sleep deprived. I'd sleep for 0-2 hours at most a night and often times during the weekday, pull allnighters. However, I'd sleep 8-12 hours of uninterrupted sleep one day out of the week and feel groggy afterwards. These are some of the effects I've experienced: - Frequently taking involuntary microsleeps - My friends have reported that I'm acting extremely unusual: mimicking behavior of when I am "drunk/high" - Ringing in ears - Eyes hurt when I blink - Chapped/dry skin - Metabolism decreasing - Loss of appetite - Seeing things in my peripheral vision: For example, when I was taking a test earlier this week, I swore I saw my jacket (on the desk behind me) begin to slide off. I quickly turned around in hopes to catch it before it fell, but it was still in the same position I had left it. I went back to my test and saw it "moving" again, but I realized I was just imagining it. - Unable to concentrate. I know this sounds a bit crazy, but I use sleep deprivation as a sort of distraction from the real world. It feels a bit torturous and self-destructive, I know, and I'd love to be able to sleep calmly but I can't... so I guess I choose not to sleep. What are the other effects that will result if I continue to deprive myself of sleep?

• Answer:

  Dude, sleep is how the body keeps running, it's one of the important things, it's almost as important as needing food, water, and oxygen to survive. No one can keep that up for so long. Get sleep. You'll need it. Your grades will drop if you don't get sleep either. You need to focus in life man. Especially if you drink caffeine like coffee...coffee on top of no sleep for days and days, you'll become a train wreck man.