Mia Katsuleres, Staff Writer
An alleged burglar in Nokomis, Florida was found asleep on the homeowner’s bed next to a bag full of jewelry on Monday, September 8. Dion Davis, 29, was arrested and booked with a $10,000 bail after being discovered in a deep slumber at a local home alongside a collection of jewelry he was planning to steal. Recent studies have shown that lack of sleep causes negative impacts on the body and mind on a scale varying from minor to detrimental. In Davis’s case, lack of sleep could land him in jail.
Although, there has been speculation as to what caused Davis to fall asleep so quickly and deeply, there hasn’t been any official reports released. One possible reason could be related to lack of sleep. Although sleep deprivation may not be the only factor contributing to Davis’s actions, it could play a big role as to how his body reacted. There have been several studies that have shown that lack of sleep can cause impact on many of your essential cognitive processes, including attention, alertness, concentration, and reasoning. Because of minimal sleeping patterns, Davis might not have been aware or have the ability to stop his body from shutting down or detect the presence of other persons in the room. NHS sophomore Jourdan Svanda said, “When I’m tired I am completely oblivious!”
In today’s society most teenagers get an average of 7 to 7 ½ hours of sleep per night, when “they (adolescents) require almost 9 to 9 ½ hours (of sleep),” NHS school nurse Anne Dalton said. For some, their schedule doesn’t even allow for 7 hours of sleep.
Senior Tiffany Chen and sophomore Mjellma Abazi sleep only 5 to 6 hours per night, and Jackie Mooney, also a senior, sleeps on average 4 to 5 hours per night. In repercussion to those lost hours many students take time out of their day for a well-deserved rest.
“When I have time, that’s what I do (take naps) in my free time” NHS junior Cal Creedin said. But sometimes that need for rest takes over and the body only responds to the yearning for sleep and relaxation.
“Sometimes if I just lie down and try and nap, I’ll end up sleeping for hours on end! I have also fallen asleep in school before too, the teacher had to wake me up!” Svanda said.
But, falling asleep in class might just be the brink of a string of negative impacts due to sleep deprivation. “A new Penn Medicine study shows disturbing evidence that chronic sleep loss may be more serious than previously thought and may seem to lead to irreversible physical dmage to loss of brain cells” found on uphs.com
According to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s office’s Facebook page Davis felt the impacts of sleep loss while in a stranger’s home. Reportedly, a cleaning lady unknowingly stumbled across Davis, while continuing a shift for her client. The police were called and after arriving, the officers snapped multiple pictures of Davis saying, “He was passed out with a bag full of stolen jewelry next to him on the bed and didn’t even notice the deputies taking pictures!” Pertinent to Davis’s struggle, sleep has eluded him to the point of eternal rest in the big house.
Although, we can’t physically see “tired” we can often see the effects of it (baggy eyes, slow movements, sleeping on desks). And even though it isn’t a tangible object it still affects the. “Sleep controls me!” Svanda said.
Whether it be a simple thing like accidently dozing off in the middle of class or while in the middle of a ransack, as a community we can all agree that we would benefit greatly by increasing the amount of sleep we get each night and in turn also having the comfort of knowing the thing that will wake you up will only be your alarm clock.
Photo Credit; visualphotos.com