Sleep deprivation is a condition caused by insufficient quantity or quality of sleep and is a serious health risk. The human body needs at least seven hours of sleep to function properly. Like oxygen, sleep is essential to life. Many people don't get enough sleep; they don't realize that sleep is as important to the human body as food and water. According to HuffPost, “an estimated 83.6 million adults in the United States suffer from sleep deprivation.” Lack of sleep is caused by personal choices, work and the sleeping environment and affects health, thinking and concentration, as well as the risk of car accidents. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Most people are sleep deprived because they choose to sleep less. They underestimate the amount of sleep they need to stay healthy. “Today, much of our society still operates under the collective illusion that sleep is simply time wasted on other activities and that it can be endlessly appropriated at will to satisfy our busy lives. increasingly busy and our to-do lists overloaded. For some people, it's an electronic device that keeps them awake. For others, maybe they don't feel tired, so they stay up and watch TV. They might say, "One more episode," but three episodes later, when they look at the clock and it says three a.m., they realize they've lost track of time and can't will not sleep much, if at all, that night. . It's not a great feeling; if a person knows they need to sleep, it would not be a good idea to stay awake longer than necessary. Another reason people are sleep deprived is because their job keeps them from sleeping. The majority of workers work long hours, which can be very tiring. All they want to do after work is lie down and go to sleep, but they can't. Many people stay up late working on something as part of their job because they have little time to finish. Or maybe they can't sleep because of the stress work gives them. Stress causes many people to lie awake at night, tossing and turning. The most common cause of lack of sleep is the sleeping environment. It's almost impossible to fall asleep uncomfortably. If the room is too hot, too cold, not dark enough, or too noisy, it may be difficult to fall asleep. If the bed is not comfortable enough, it is also difficult to fall asleep. Some people have trouble sleeping if their pillow is not “soft” enough. Others blame their mattress. Regardless of the factor, if something in the room is slightly off, it can affect a person's ability to fall asleep. Lack of sleep has a huge impact on a person's health. While a person sleeps, their immune system produces protective and anti-infection substances like cytokines. It uses these substances to fight foreign invaders such as bacteria and viruses. Cytokines also help a person sleep, giving their immune system more energy to defend their body against illness. Recovering from an illness can take longer if you don't get enough sleep. Long-term lack of sleep also increases the risk of chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and disease..