Stage 4 Sleep Deprivation

Stage 4 sleep deprivation is very serious. The fourth stage of sleeping is the deepest rest that a person experiences during the sleeping process, and it occurs during the first third of a night of rest. 10 – 15% of your sleeping time is stage 4 rest, and because this is when your body does its regeneration, if you are stage 4 sleep deprived, you risk serious health problems. The deep sleep of stage 4 is also called the Delta Sleep.

Lacking the Ability to Fall Asleep

During stage four, our muscles and our brains regenerate while asleep. This process is necessary to keep us healthy, and to keep our brains functioning normally. When this stage of sleep is lacking or when a person is deprived of this stage altogether, the immune system becomes weak and the brain stops functioning as it should. This not only results in serious health problems, but this lacking rest can also cause a person to go into an abnormal mental state, and prolonged stage four sleep deprivation can even result in death.

The most common causes for stage four sleep deprivation are snoring, sleep apnea, and insomnia. However, when a person who is sleep deprived does finally falls asleep, stage four is typically the stage that their brains try to find first. If you are experiencing a great deal of fatigue or if you are having trouble concentrating, you should speak with your doctor about having a sleep study done. This will enable both you and your doctor to find out what may be causing the fatigue, and a course of treatment can be determined.