In a dream the person spends the third part of life, restoring the physical and mental forces. Therefore, sleep deprivation has long been considered cruel torture. Already a day after the person had no sleep, he had serious changes in consciousness, which could lead to the emergence of mental illness.
However, the ancient Romans deprived a person of sleep not for torture, but in order to save him from a depressive state. They noticed that a night spent without sleep, in amusement and amusement, can improve a person's mental state, reduce anxiety and heartache. Since besides the Romans no one knew about this method, it was forgotten and re-discovered only in 1970. Deprivation of sleep, or deprivation, was used to treat persistent depressive conditions and mental illness.
Deprivation of sleep in depression
With depression in a person, such phenomena as insomnia, anxiety, mood instability, depression, decrease or absence of appetite are observed. This condition indicates that the body experiences a hormonal failure. With the method of sleep deprivation, you can create an additional stress for the body, which will help restore the hormonal balance.
The method of sleep deprivation can be carried out under the supervision of doctors in medical institutions and independently at home.
Methods of deprivation of sleep and fasting are similar. And in that, and in another case a person deprives himself of vital things for the sake of improving his condition. At the same time, similar biochemical processes take place in the body, leading to a decrease in the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood.
The essence of sleep deprivation is the following: lack of a vital process (sleep) leads to the emergence of a stressful state. During stress, the level of catecholamines that support the emotional tone and improve the mental state rises.
Deprivation of sleep is of two types:
- Partial deprivation of sleep . This method provides for sleep no more than 4 hours a day for 3-4 weeks. Usually during this time the body is rebuilt to a new rhythm of life, and the need for sleep is reduced. After about three weeks of partial deprivation, a person can feel a sharp improvement in the state: anxiety goes away, a good mood appears, and activity increases.
- Complete deprivation of sleep . This method is to completely deprive the person of sleep during the day. And the person should be active all this time and not sleep a single minute. Even a small dip in sleep negates the therapeutic effect of deprivation. Sometimes it takes only one sleep pass to make the depressive state come to naught. However, most often it is necessary to practice deprivation about two times a week for 3-4 weeks.
Consequences of sleep deprivation
Deprivation of night sleep is designed to bring a person out of the depressed state and return him the joy of life. This method is quite efficient and affordable. It does not require special conditions and medicines. However, this method has its drawbacks:
- the misuse of deprivation of night sleep can lead to the appearance of psychosis in an inconsistent form;
- Deficiency of the body's defenses;
- sleep can deteriorate, which will lead to the appearance of a broken state, lethargy and reduced efficiency;
- prolonged deprivation of sleep affects the body as well as strong drugs. A person has visual and auditory hallucinations, the line between reality and fantasy is blurred. Therefore, long-term deprivation can be carried out only under the supervision of a doctor and, if possible, do not leave the house.