The Dangers of Memory Loss

One cause of memory loss is from sleep deprivation. 

Have you ever gone to school or work in your house shoes because you were too sleepy to remember to change shoes? Have you locked yourself out of your home because you were still groggy from lack of restful sleep only to remember (too late) that your house and car keys were still lying on the kitchen table? Have you put your sunglasses atop your head, then searched frantically for them because you forgot?

Sometimes memory loss can be funny. It is sure to give you a few silly stories that produce giggles. Undoubtedly, memory loss will serve to uncover forgotten tales of another person's experiences. Even little children can recall instances of memory loss resulting from lack of sleep.

Memory loss can also be dangerous. Sometimes it will prove lethal, sometimes just unfortunate. The sleep deprived will suffer memory loss as though in a brain fog, walking around in a daze, unable to focus, sometimes with a blank expression. Observe a class of teenagers or college students after a popular festive weekend. There is sure to be someone in the crowd with a blank stare or head hanging from exhaustion, possibly with their mouth open as they 'zone out'.

Worse cases of memory loss from sleep deprivation would be to forget medication you'd already taken, taking it again and suffering severe side effects, possibly becoming hospitalized as a result. If you became too sleepy to remember to turn off a burner on a stove, it could cause a house fire, possibly injuring some child you left home alone or an elderly person in your care. Maybe you're a young mother and weren't prepared to expect the sleep disturbances of a newborn. If you forget to change your baby's diaper, a horrible diaper rash could result, causing pain and rawness that might take several days to heal. If you get behind the wheel of your car while sleepy, you might forget to look both ways or forget momentarily which pedal is the gas or the brake and cause an accident.

Sometimes medications can cause sleep disturbances, which result in memory loss, or the medication itself may make it harder to concentrate because of its effects. If you suffer memory loss on your job, you could cause an injury to a co-worker or possibly lose your job simply because of something vital you forgot, such as an important meeting you needed to have prepared for.

Memory loss is caused by other things besides sleep deprivation, of course. But the most important thing is to find ways to remedy the problem. Take advantage of a short nap whenever possible. Learn to relax before its time for bed, instead of waiting on bedtime to begin relaxing. For the chronic work-a-holic, the new parents, or a college student burning the candle at both ends, learning to get the proper amount of sleep is essential to avoiding unfortunate events caused by sleep-deprived memory loss. Remember, if you don't care for your body and mind, it can't continue to function properly.

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