Question

who is likely suffering the most from sleep deprivation?
arjun—who slept 7 hours a night monday through friday but slept 9 hours each night last weekend
sato—who normally sleeps 9 hours a night but has slept 4 hours a night for the last week
camila—who normally sleeps 8 hours a night but pulled an all - nighter last night
sam—who has slept 5 hours a night for the last 2 weeks

Explanation:

To determine who suffers most from sleep deprivation, we analyze each option:

• Arjun: Sleeps 7 hours on weekdays (close to average adult needs) and 9 on weekends. Overall, not severely deprived.
• Sato: Normally sleeps 9 hours (higher than average) but has slept 4 hours nightly for a week. A large reduction from their normal, but duration of deprivation is 1 week.
• Camila: Normally sleeps 8 hours, pulled one all - nighter. Deprivation is short - term (1 night).
• Sam: Has slept 5 hours nightly for 2 weeks. 5 hours is below the average adult sleep need (7 - 9 hours), and the deprivation is long - term (2 weeks), leading to cumulative sleep debt.

Answer:

B. Sato—who normally sleeps 9 hours a night but has slept 4 hours a night for the last week (Note: There is an error in the initial analysis. The correct answer should be Sam. Let's re - analyze:

• Arjun: 7 hours on weekdays (adequate for many) and 9 on weekends. Total sleep over a week: \(5\times7 + 2\times9=35 + 18 = 53\) hours. Average per night: \(\frac{53}{7}\approx7.57\) hours, which is close to normal.
• Sato: Normal 9 hours, now 4 hours for a week. Total sleep: \(7\times4 = 28\) hours. Normal total for a week: \(7\times9 = 63\) hours. Sleep debt: \(63 - 28 = 35\) hours.
• Camila: Normal 8 hours, one all - nighter (0 hours). Sleep debt: 8 hours.
• Sam: 5 hours a night for 2 weeks (14 nights). Total sleep: \(14\times5 = 70\) hours. Normal total for 2 weeks (assuming 8 hours a night): \(14\times8 = 112\) hours. Sleep debt: \(112 - 70 = 42\) hours. Also, 5 hours is chronically low. So Sam has a larger sleep debt and longer - term deprivation. So the correct answer is D. Sam—who has slept 5 hours a night for the last 2 weeks)