Research and Analysis (17)

My preferred topic for the argument paper discusses the use of ergogenic and cognitive aids within the U.S. military.  
I'm interested in this topic because of the controversy involved.  There's two ways at this point in time to combat sleep deprivation.  The first is obviously through a more regulated sleep schedule, and the second is by implementing sleep reduction aids including caffeine, amphetamines, and modafinil. In these circumstances, the U.S. military is choosing to utilize both ergogenic and cognitive aids.  My interest in this topic stems from the attempt to balance the need for sleep and how that affects one's need or dependence on certain sleep reduction aids.  My stance on this subject is as follows:  U.S. military personnel need adequate sleep in order to perform well at their designated tasks, yet they experience a high amount of sleep debt and sleep deprivation.  If they do not receive enough sleep due to the inability to regulate an appropriate sleep schedule, then the next action to aid the personnel is the utilization of sleep reduction aids.  Although this might not be the best solution to the problem of sleep deprivation in the U.S. armed forces in regards to health, it seems to be the only option right now, especially if these aids are already in use. 
Two sources I plan to include are:
"Night of the Living Meds:  The U.S. military's sleep-reduction program" by William Saletan, and
"Sleep Patterns of Young Men and Women Enrolled at the United States Military Academy" by Nita Lewis Miller.

Sleep Reduction (16)

In William Saletan's "Night of the Living Meds," it is reported that the military is already taking action to research and develop drugs that aid in sleep reduction for current personnel.  As we've discussed and read in class, it's evident that sleep deprivation has a huge negative effect on people.  This doesn't exclude soldiers at war.  Research has been conducted that shows mental and physical performance decline significantly when one is deprived of sleep.  With this in mind, the personnel at war experience an extreme drop in performance during combat.  In an attempt to remedy this, the military is now implementing the use of supplements to essentially eliminate sleep deprivation and improve physical performance.  Caffeine has been a major focus of study and a widespread necessity among military personnel, but along with caffeine, 86 other aids have been evaluated as well.  With the utilization of these aids, an obvious improvement in function can be seen.  However, at this point in time, the military states that the study and use of these aids occurs simply to prepare themselves for the possibility that their enemies might begin to implement these aids first, according to Saletan.  
In my opinion, I don't think finding ways to employ sleep reduction is the best idea.  If at all possible, I think the military should accommodate sleep schedules that benefit all personnel.  Sadly, this probably isn't completely reasonable or possible.  So with that being said, I think it is almost a necessity for the military to find ways to make personnel feel awake with little to no sleep.  If sleep reduction aids are going to improve the performance of the military personnel, then it might be important for them to be used.  It's a touchy subject when it comes down the the health of military personnel, regardless of the position one takes in this instance.   

War and Sleep (15)

In the article "Sleep Difficult in a War Zone" by Todd Neale, a study was done to determine if the sleep of current deployed personnel or personnel that had been deployed in the past was affected in comparison to personnel that hadn't yet been deployed.  The result showed that those who are currently deployed in  Iraq or Afghanistan, or those who have already completed a deployment are getting less sleep than those who had not yet been deployed.  Similarly, the groups of personnel who had experienced deployment reported more trouble sleeping, and "... the relationships seemed to be modified by both exposure to combat and by mental health problems -- including post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression -- during follow-up."  Now researchers are questioning whether sleep (or the lack of it) plays a role in the development of these mental health problems.  If so, then the promotion of a healthy sleep schedule among military personnel might be beneficial to those deployed and those who have completed a deployment.
Based off of everything we have discussed in class about the negative effects sleep deprivation has on both physical and mental health, I am not surprised by these results and the concern of the researchers.  In my opinion, I believe a healthy sleep schedule would greatly benefit all military personnel, especially those currently in combat.  Realistically, I know that sleeping while in combat would naturally be hard to come by, but if there was some way to improve this somehow, I think signs of depression and PTSD after completing a deployment could be limited to an extent.  I don't think sleep can cure all cases of depression and PTSD, but I do believe it could help fairly significantly in the long run. 

School Terrors (14)

Not too long ago, I had this dream/nightmare that I only got one question right on my most recent Chemistry exam, which resulted in my grade being a 5 for that specific test.  When I woke up, I obviously had a huge problem with this dream (nightmare?).  Before I had learned anything about dreams, I wouldn't have known why I had that particular nightmare, but now I do.  I think that that dream occurred during my REM sleep because those are the brain's way to try and move into the future for experience.  So in other words, my brain was trying to prepare me for a failing grade on my Chemistry exam.  This is funny to me, because I thought I actually did very poorly on the test, which means my brain legitimately tried to prepare me for what I thought was already going to happen.  Of course, I didn't really think I was going to score a 5 on my test, but I still didn't expect an outstanding grade!  As it turns out, I found out the grade I actually made today, and thankfully I did decently on it!  So all of my stress and terrible dreams happened for no real reason!

Bad Days Lead to More Naps (For Me) (13)

Today has not been a good day for a handful of reasons.  With that being said, I really felt like I needed to take a nap earlier, and so I did (or at least tried).  I didn't ever end up falling asleep, but just laying down and relaxing allowed me to sort of rejuvenate myself before taking on the rest of the day.  Still thinking about the question that was asked on the first day of class, I'm realizing more and more that sleep, or even just resting in general is extremely important in my everyday life.  I've become more aware now of the nights that I don't get enough sleep and how that has a negative effect on me the next day, as well as my need to escape from myself and other stressful events that have happened during the day.  My desire for good sleep has increased as well.  Of course, as a college student I won't always have the time to get enough sleep, and quite frankly sometimes I choose to not get enough sleep in order to maintain a social life.  But whenever that happens, I always make a point to either nap in an effort to avoid a bad day, or go to bed earlier the next night to make up for the sleep debt I've accumulated.

Manhole 69 (12)

All I have to say about this story is wow!  The story told in this is extremely thought provoking, yet eerie, and I kept thinking about the question we were asked the first day of class.  I remember I said that I would choose to live without sleep, but I think I might change my answer now.  I said that I would do without sleep in order to have more hours awake, which would give me more time to accomplish things, but now being halfway through the semester, I'm realizing more and more how important sleep is.  For one, as mentioned in the story, I need a break during my days.  Sometimes I even need a break in the middle of my day, which is when I decide to take a nap!  If I didn't sleep at night, I would be completely overwhelmed with everything, which is ironic considering I thought I would be more productive without sleep.  Overall, I really think that the purpose of "Manhole 69" is to demonstrate the actual importance of sleep that is often overlooked by people.


Source:  Manhole 69, J.G.  Ballard

Midterm Madness (11)

As I think back to the beginning of this semester, it's crazy to think about how much I've learned solely about sleep!  Before this class, I knew only bits and pieces about REM sleep and obviously about the physical aspects of sleep, but now I know so much more from circadian rhythms all the way to sleep inertia, sleep drive, and sleep debt.  While preparing for the upcoming midterm, my nerves are starting to kick in just a little bit!  I feel like we've learned a lot of information that we need to retain, so I'm a little worried about trying to remember everything.  But with the rest of today and tomorrow to study and prepare, I think I'll score decently on the midterm.  What I'm enjoying most thus far are any discussions about dreams and nightmares.  For some reason, dreams and nightmares are extremely intriguing to me.  If I can find enough research and topics to talk about in regards to dreams and nightmares, I think I might choose to write my paper about them!

Waking Up In the Dark (10)

On Sunday morning, my alarm went off and I woke up to see no sunlight outside at 7 am.  This made it extremely difficult for me to actually get out of bed!  Up until then, I hadn't woken up to no sunlight, even if it was just a little bit, and it really threw me off!  I ended up staying in bed twenty minutes later than I intended because I just couldn't get going.  It probably didn't help that I had a late night the night before, but I really do think waking up to no sunlight caused a huge problem for me!  It made me realize that I'm definitely not ready for the soon approaching time change.  
On the other hand, waking up today was a lot easier!  Granted, I didn't have to be up until about 9 am, but I actually woke up two minutes before my alarm went off, and I felt very refreshed!  Having woken up on my own, I was not interrupted in the middle of my sleep cycle, which made it a lot easier for me to get up.  I didn't roll over and go back to sleep, so instead I turned my alarm off and got out of bed and felt ready for the day.  I had plenty of time to get ready without rushing, and then I went to the cafeteria to eat breakfast before my first class.  Needless to say, my body waking up naturally has been the best thing that's happened to me in regards to my attempts to get up in the mornings!  Maybe I should invest in an alarm clock that goes off according to which part of my sleep cycle is happening...