Wiktionary
n. The condition of forcibly (by someone else, or by a sleep disorder) being kept awake, to the point of noticeably lower alertness. A dangerous amount of sleep deprivation can cause fatal vehicular accidents.
Wikipedia
Sleep deprivation is the condition of not having enough sleep; it can be either chronic or acute. A chronic sleep-restricted state can cause fatigue, daytime sleepiness, clumsiness and weight loss or weight gain. It adversely affects the brain and cognitive function. However, in a subset of cases sleep deprivation can, paradoxically, lead to increased energy and alertness and enhanced mood; it has even been used as a treatment for depression (see below). Few studies have compared the effects of acute total sleep deprivation and chronic partial sleep restriction. Complete absence of sleep over long periods has not been seen in humans (unless they suffer from fatal familial insomnia); it appears that brief microsleeps cannot be avoided. Long-term total sleep deprivation has caused death in lab animals.
Usage examples of "sleep deprivation".
Adler looked from his assistant to the tall cowboy of a trooper and thought: Sleep deprivation, that's my problem.
He would also be repeating a pattern of sleep deprivation he would just as soon have avoided.
The total disruption of the biological clock, the total absence of time sense, and sleep deprivation and consequent eternal fatigue coupled with the shock collar were as effective on her as on the thousands before her.
The total disruption of the biological clock, the total absence of time sense, and sleep deprivation and consequent eternal fatigue coupled with the shock collar were as effective on her as on the thou¬.
The emotional phase was over: they'd taken me quite a long way into sleep deprivation and produced an initial reaction - childishness, the urge to attack them.
Dazed by sleep deprivation, the nobles were trussed up and shackled, forced to stand before a drunken magistrate and a jury of beggars dragged in from the streets.
In the silence of predawn, exhausted beyond sleep, Grace paced and thought, wondering if sleep deprivation was making her crazy or if she was indeed battling nothing less than Satan.
Forcible sleep deprivation to induce hallucinations and sleep-dep psychosis.