Insomnia: Types, Causes and Effects

Insomnia: Types, Causes and Effects Insomnia Intro: The torture of sleeplessness is something that most people will experience at some point during their lives. The Term Insomnia is used to describe by frequently waking up throughout the night, not being able to fall asleep, and feeling tired after waking up in the morning. Unfortunately, Insomnia is a condition that is severely under-recognized. Discovery: who / how / when / where â€Å"Insomnia†, which comes from Latin words for â€Å"No Sleep†, is simply the deprivation of sleep. Insomnia has been observed all throughout human history, and because of this, it can’t be pinpointed on when exactly it was discovered. In 1818, Johann Heinroth, a German physician referred to Insomnia as being a psychosomatic disorder. History : past diagnosis, cases and treatments There have been many documented cases of insomnia all throughout history, including the infamous Chinese King Wu. In the book Records of the Historian, King Wu describes how he could not sleep at night as he has not â€Å"Secured Heaven’s Support†, and thus had no time for sleep. Over 10% of the general population is currently suffering from Insomnia, with female and the elderly suffering the most. Insomnia: Types There are many types of Insomnia, including Acute, Chronic, Comorbid, Onset, and Maintenance. Generally, Insomnia is only referred to as either Acute or Chronic based on the duration and frequency that the sleep issues have been occurring, but there are many sub categories to Insomnia as well. Acute Insomnia refers to sleep problems that last anywhere from one night to a few weeks. These disturbances in ones sleep schedule generally occur due to an emotional or physical change in someone’s life, such as illness, jet lag, and even environmental disturbances. This is generally not always the case though, as it can be caused by many other events such as a change in noises, different types of medications, caffeine / nicotine withdrawal and even pain. Chronic Insomnia is a serious medical condition that roughly 6% of all Americans suffer from. Chronic Insomnia is referred to any type of Insomnia that has been occurring at least 3 times per week for a period of longer than 1 month, despite having the opportunity to sleep. Chronic Insomnia is a serious medical condition that is under diagnosed and under treated, despite millions of American’s suffering from it every day. Comorbid Insomnia refers to a type of insomnia that stems from another condition, such as psychological, medical, and even environmental issues. Roughly 85-90% of those diagnosed with Chronic Insomnia can trace their sleep issues back to a type of Comorbid Insomnia. Onset Insomnia refers to having difficulty falling asleep, but once falling asleep the subject has no problem staying asleep. Maintenance Insomnia is exactly the opposite of that. The subject can fall asleep quickly but frequently wakes up throughout the night. Effects: Insomnia has many different effects, none of which are particularly good ones. Sleep is essential to our survival, while your body rests during sleep; your brain is busy processing all the information from that day and starting to create memories. Without sleep, you’re at a higher risk than most at developing serious health issues such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and your short-term memory may be affected. Sleep deprivation has been the cause of some of the biggest disasters that have occurred in recent history. Three Mile Island, the Exxon Valdez oil spill, and even the 1986 meltdown at Chernobyl have all been able to trace its roots back to employees sleep deprived. The real danger from sleep deprivation though is something we experience in our everyday lives, and that’s on the roads. Drowsiness can often time slow down a person’s reaction time to that of someone who is intoxicated. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that fatigue is the primary cause of close to 100,000 automobile crashes and 1,550 deaths per year in the United States, with the greatest effect being on those below the age of 25 years old. On the job injuries have also been at an all-time high. Another huge effect of sleep deprivation is a loss in cognitive processes. It impairs your attention, alertness, concentration, reasoning and even problem solving. All this in turn makes it extremely difficult to learn and process new information. Sleep loss has the ability to severely affect your ability to retain information as well. In 2009, French and American researchers came to the conclusion that â€Å"sharp wave ripples, a brain event, is responsible for piecing together all your memory. These ripples also transfer over information that you’ve learned from the hippocampus to the brain’s neocortex, where long-term memories are stored. These sharp wave ripples primarily occur only when your body is in a deep slumber. Depression is a key ingredient when it comes to having issues sleeping. In a 2005 Sleep in America poll, people who were diagnosed with anxiety and/or depression were often times found to be sleeping less than six hours per night. In addition to that, a 2007 study shows that those with Insomnia were over 5 times as likely to develop depression as those without it. Some physical effects of sleep deprivation are more serious than one might think. Sleep deprivation and chronic sleep loss can lead to heart disease, attack, and even failure. It can also lead to irregular heartbeats, high blood pressure, stroke, and diabetes. According to some recent studies, nearly 90% of people suffering from Insomnia are also suffering from another health condition. Weight gain is also a side effect of sleep loss. In a 2004 study, those that were getting less than 6 hours of sleep per night we’re close to thirty percent more likely to become obese versus those that slept for seven to nine hours per night. What ends up happening is a decrease in leptin, a hunger hormone, which is usually regulated by sleep. Sex drive is also affected by Insomnia. Many sleep specialists say that men and women that don’t get enough sleep generally report lower libidos and a reduced interest in sex. This can easily be pinpointed due to depleted energy from lack of sleep. Even physical features of one’s self can be affected by sleep deprivation. Aside from the covenant â€Å"bags under eyes†, it turns out that chronic sleep deprivation can lead to fine lines and lackluster skin. What ends up happening is that when your body doesn’t get enough sleep is that your body releases more cortisol, a stress hormone. In higher amounts of cortisol it can break down the protein that helps keep your skin elastic and smooth, collagen. In addition to that, being at a loss of sleep, your body will release too little of the human growth hormone (GH). Human Growth Hormones is essential to our body, as it’s used to increase muscle, strengthen bones, and even increase the thickness of your skin. The worst of all the above issues is that Insomnia can increase your risk of death. In 1967, the â€Å"Whitehall II Study† looked at how patterns of sleep affected the mortality rate of close to ten thousand British servants over a period of over twenty years. The results of this study were published in 2007, showed that those that had on average 5 hours of sleep per night nearly doubled their risk of death from all causes. In addition to this, it also doubled the risk of death from cardiovascular diseases. Causes: What actually causes Insomnia? Well, Insomnia has many different causes that are almost always related to stress in some way. Stress, is described as â€Å"a state of mental or emotion strain resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances.† Concerns about family, school, health, and even work can easily keep your mind extremely active throughout the night, which would cause someone to have difficulty sleeping. Anxiety is also a leading cause for Insomnia, with most adults having trouble sleeping because they feel worried or nervous at some point in time. Anxiety can often times be tied to having Onset or Maintenance Insomnia. Anxiety and Insomnia can also often times feed each other, which causes a terrible cycle between anxiousness, dread and panic. Alcohol, Nicotine, Caffeine and other related substances can also have a huge effect on Insomnia. Caffeine causing Insomnia is a trend that’s been increasing over the years due to energy drinks and other types of high caffeine beverages. Caffeine has a very short half-life, which means it takes about eight to ten hours for your liver to process 75% of the caffeine. Nicotine is also to blame for Insomnia, with it being a stimulant. Using tobacco products or smoking cigarettes around bedtime can make it difficult to fall asleep and to sleep well throughout the night. People who are more prone? Women are much more likely to get Insomnia then men are. One main reason that women are affected more is that the menstrual cycle and menopause can affect sleep. Age also has a correlation with Insomnia, as Insomnia is more frequent with the elderly. Those that have any types of conditions that cause pain and discomfort are much more likely to develop Insomnia. Insomnia is also a side effect of many over the counter medications. A recent study has showed that those that have had nightmares and a fear of the dark as children are more prone to having Insomnia. Treatments There are many over the counter medications that claim to improve your sleep and assist with falling asleep, but they’re actually making the condition worse. Even though sleeping pills / alcohol are technically depressants, they will end up disrupting your sleep later throughout the night. Most of the time, Insomnia can be cured just by simply changing minor things throughout the day, minimizing naps and cutting down on those late night coffees to start. Many relaxation exercises used before bedtime can help assist sleep, as they encourage mind and muscle relaxation. Deep breathing is a technique that is commonly used to assist with Insomnia. It may seem quite trivial when put into the grand perspective of things, but it ends of working for hundreds of thousands of patients. Future There is still much to be learned about Insomnia, as there are still fundamental deficits in researcher’s understanding of it. When it comes to the treatment of Insomnia, the future is one that doesn’t involve the use of sedatives. Many doctors are adopting methods of addressing Insomnia at its roots vs. just covering it up with some sleep medication. New treatments On Aug 13th, 2014 the FDA approved a new type of prescription insomnia drug that’s the first of its kind. This new drug alters the action of the brain’s chemical orexin, which helps to regulate the sleep-wake cycle. Conclusion Insomnia is a serious medical condition that often times gets skimmed over by physicians. Hundreds of thousands of people suffer from Insomnia daily with the number increasing every single day. As the number increases, more and more people are beginning to realize the impact that Insomnia has on the others and how it can significantly impair the lives of others. Social networking games: Effect on teenagers Social networking games: Effect on teenagers Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Background Playing computer games or video games becoming a dominant part in most people life especially teenagers. A survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation in 2005 (Cheryl, 2013) found that on any given day, 65% of 8 to 10 year old and 63% of 11 to 14 years old play video or computer game in US. Nowadays, due to the development of technology, people slowly diverted to social networking game. As there is a huge increase of number of teenagers playing social network over the year and create an opportunities for multibillion business to be growth. As continuity grown in social networking site also stimulate the growth of social networking games. According to a new statistic gather by Parks Associates, revenues in the social games market will increase by 500% from 2010 to 2015 (Parks Associates, 2011).Besides, according Datamonitor (2008), the value of the global online game market has rapidly expanded from US$3.4 billion in 2005 to US$13 billion in 2012. On average, there were over 4000 thousand new games being launched in the app store and play store (Miczaika, 2013). In other word, it is a big business industry that attracts many game developers to join in and it also showing that it would be essential to understand what motivated people to play and success in getting a significant share in the industry. A social networking game can also know as casual game as due to its distinctive feature which using social networking as a platform such as Facebook and LINE which require user to login with social networking account before proceed to the gaming. According to Fields Cotton (2012), social games can defined as games that use an external social network of some type to facilitate the user’s interaction with other players and these social interactions can help drive adoption of the games and retain players. One of the best examples to be use is the Farmville which record 60 million users (The Guardian, 2009). This once again indicates that social games have become very popular in recent years. One of the possible reasons for being such is due these games enable user to interact with other through sending gift or chat and competition among other gamer where different with traditional games which can play alone. Other than that, according to the White Night Mobile Game Conference (2 013), there were over 64% diamond dash gamer login through Facebook to have access to the popular social networking games and the COO of Wooga, Jan Miczaika also saying that on average, gamer on Wooga play average 2 game on a given day. Over the year many research done to find out what is the impact of this phenomena as study how the social networking games bring what consequences to teenager on playing it such as drop in academic study and other. Most research that is conducted is mainly interested and focuses on how games are influencing the teenager’s behaviour such as how gaming lead to aggressive and violence behaviour which closely related how people behave. Social networking games in these day providing people with a brand new insight of gaming to gamer. As social networking games offer a wide range of games from traditional games, casual games to skill games that meet various interests of gamers. However, the social networking games now has turn over become a multibillion dollar business, it also shown that there is a need to understand what actually make it some interesting to attract people to play on it especially teenager. According to Playfish (2009), the social gaming publisher, almost 80% of their gamer is 18-34 years old and male and female fairly divided. At the same time, another popular social gaming, Diamond dash which develop by Wooga is receiving 1.9 million visitor come each month through Facebook Request (Miczaika, 2013).Thus in this research we would like to focus on what motivates teenagers to play social networking game that provide better knowledge for the future development in the industry. The rapidly growth on this social networking games industry has making it attractive enough to attract other game developer to develop social networking games. This once again shows that social gaming is today world the dominant in gaming industry to be developed in coming year times. In other word, this also shown that, this area of research is highly interested by many researchers. As to avoid and protect the platform users from spamming effect from other user especially game request, Facebook has introduced a new policy and setting of game as one of the approach to prohibit the spamming effect to be viral and this make difficult for developer to recruit new gamer and it would be more easier for them to understand what motivated people to play and help in the marketing and developing of game (Clipperton, 2013). According to the perception of Self-Determination Theory, motivation can came from various intrinsic and extrinsic sources as it also focus on how the social and cultural factor influencing people’s motivation on engaging themselves in activities. Individual’s experience such as autonomy, competence,andrelatednessare one of the forms of motivation to engagement for activities (Self-Determination theory, n,p).Thus in the research, we would conceptualise and categories the motivation into few type so that it is measurable. For example, goal or reward, excitement, interesting graphic, peer effect, leader board. Leader boards can be one of the motivations that motivate teenager step into playing social games. As anyone who grew up in the video game generation they will never realise that leader boards are the invisible encouragement to motivate players try harder in the games (Mashable, 2011). Players will desire to do better to achieve high ranking in the leader boards as they may compete with their friends or nationwide. 1.2 Statement of Research Problem As mentioned above, the purpose of doing this research is to investigate the reason that bring by the social networking games and their motivation towards the teenager to play the games. From our observation and searching, we found that there are a lot of researches have completed the study in this gaming scope. But we found that, most of the researches were more focus on the study of the impacts or the influences of playing games instead of what the reason behind that make them to play games. So, this is one of the reasons why we are conducting a research to figure out the actual reason that attaches the teenagers with the games. There are a few factors that motivates or connecting them with the game in their daily life. According to Scoresby and Shelton (2011), a computer game environment creates motivation through emotionally linking the player to the content. It is the interaction between sensory stimulation, environmental factors and a player’s internal tendencies that en courage involvement and enable immersion (Witmer and Singer, 1998). People are motivated by various factors such as own self-interest, care and also to satisfied their curiosity as well. According to the Self-Determination Theory, Intrinsic motivation can be characterized by free choice, interest, optimal challenge and psychological needs, such as reflectance, personal causation, competence, autonomy and social needs (Deci and Ryan, 1990). These intrinsic motivations are not necessarily internally rewarded but nonetheless they can sustain passion, creativity and efforts. Besides, as the technology grows time by time, games on the internet especially social networking games are becoming popular as the generations nowadays tend to engage themselves on it. The social networking games such as the Facebook games, are one of the type of social networking games that loved by the teenagers. Social networking game functions by letting the players interacting with each other through various ways. The uniqueness of game study is its focus on the process rather than the results of game use (Barr et al., 2007). Games also possess interdisciplinary integration and interaction with player through multidimensional elements such as set, character, animation and music. So we can see from here, game study it involve a very complicated and extensive field that merits more attention from researcher (Kai-Shuan Shen, 2012). We found that previous researches mostly were study on the video games or other type of game but social networking game is still fresh for the research er to investigate what is the attractive characteristic that linked the teenagers to the social networking games. The factors that engage teenager with the video games or other games type are different compared to the social networking game as this game type are new. Different social networking game in different region has different cultural background which may have different motivations that lead those teenagers to engage to the game. Although there are few researches have done the study on this motivation’s perspective, but the research couldn’t represent the study in Malaysia. In Malaysia, there is still fresh for the research to study the reason why the social networking is interesting enough to be played by those teenagers. People in Malaysia may have different reason of motivation when they engaging with the social networking game compared to the other western country. This is because cultural background is different for those people from different country. They may have different interest towards social networking games. Sometimes a person engage with a particular online game is because he or she feels that the game is closely related to his or her cultural background, and thus, he or she will feel motivated to play the game . So, we will specifically study about why the teenagers in Malaysia are motivated to play the social networking game. 1.3 Research Objective To investigate the motive behind playing social networking games 1.4 Research Questions 1.) What motivates college student to play social networking game? 1.5 Significance of study In this 21st century, social media become part of life in this world and the people who get influence are increase complexly. Most of the people interact and use social media for different purpose. In this research, we want further explore the motivation behind the social networking games that motivate teenager to play and get a better understand and knowledge in this major industry. 1.6 Research Scope The focus scope of this research is to analyse what are the motivation that motivate college student towards the social networking games. We will focus our study about what is the motive behind that makes college student o involve in social network games. As such, our primary target audience of this research would be college student who fall in between the range of age around 19-25, which is the people who born from early 1989 until 1995. Audience in these range of age are our targeted sample as they are those college students which is highly participated in playing games no matter in in the form of online or offline and they were most likely those core target audience of game developer. From social media platform, such as Facebook, Google Plus, college student can get motivation to involve themselves to the use of information technology such as social media and social gaming with both motivation factors which including intrinsic and extrinsic reason. (Davist al., 1992). Social media and games have a powerful yet invisible power to keep all of us engaged and connected with each other in this world. In this research, we would use non probability sampling method to make a sample size that consist 200 people that age between 19 25 as to be accurate is all college student that play social network game. 1