sleep deprivation

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) recommendations for the amount of sleep needed decrease with age.

Sleep deprivation, also known as sleep insufficiency or sleeplessness, is the health condition of not having adequate duration or quality of sleep to support proper alertness, performance, and health. It can be either chronic or acute and may vary widely in severity. This means it can happen over both short and long periods of time. Sleep is important because adequate sleep, or restful sleep, is essential for maintaining overall health, brain performance, emotional regulation, and metabolic balance. Persistent sleep insufficiency can contribute to cognitive decline, emotional instability, and biological wear that has effects similar to accelerated aging. Scientific research demonstrates that inadequate sleep produces chronic consequences for overall health, ranging from attentional lapses to long-term neurodegenerative changes.