“I only need 6 hours of sleep each night. That’s all I need to function well each day.” If you hear a colleague, friend or family member say this or something similar you can be assured they are adversely impacting their emotional functioning. A recent study by Cara Palmer et al reviewed 50 years of sleep studies involving 5,715 participants and found strong evidence that periods of extended wakefulness, shortened sleep duration, and/or nighttime awakenings adversely influence human emotional functioning.
Sleep loss undermines human functioning
The study revealed the many ways that sleep loss undermines human emotional functioning and increases the risk of developing psychiatric disorders. These findings have implications for everyone; especially industries, sectors and people in careers, prone to sleep loss (e.g., night hospital staff, first responders, pilots, and truck drivers).
Emotional impacts of sleep loss
In synthesising the research papers, all forms of sleep loss resulting in less than 8 hours of sleep led to negative emotional outcomes; more specifically increased anxiety, and increasingly flat responses to emotional stimuli. Participants also reported increased anxiety symptoms such as a rapid heart rate and increased worrying. Depressive symptoms were mixed and depended on the type of sleep loss.
I regularly see these impacts in clients who are prompted to come in and see me. They are often concerned by their rising levels of anxiety, or they are concerned that they have lost the ability to feel – and they’re worried about developing or having depression. And after some discussion, the root cause is often the result of a lack of sleep.
Lack of sleep also impacts how you behave
If you are unsure how a lack of sleep impacts human behaviour you only need to look at a new parent or an over-tired child. Their ability to manage their emotions and subsequent behaviour is almost non-existent because of the energy it takes to behave well and respond appropriately.
Now if you are suffering from a lack of sleep and are yet to notice your rising anxiety levels or flatlining emotions, perhaps you can recognise these two behavioural manifestations of sleep loss.
Disconnect with how you feel
People who don’t get enough restorative sleep often suffer from low emotional intelligence i.e., they suffer from a disconnect between what they feel and how the other people perceive them. So, you may find yourself wondering why others mis-perceive how you’re feeling or perhaps you suspect you’re not communicating as well as you could be.
Lack of inhibition
When you are under-slept you may also suffer from emotional outbursts or suffer from a lack of diplomacy when you communicate. This lack of inhibition can manifest in you saying the wrong things to the wrong people at the wrong time, or reacting in ways that far outstrip the situation. If this sounds like you then don’t be surprised if this behaviour is impacting the quality of your relationships or career prospects.
While this research has behavioural implications, researchers also found that extended wakefulness, shortened sleep duration, and/or nighttime awakenings resulted in participants consistently experiencing fewer positive emotions such as joy, happiness and contentment. And it didn’t take much sleep loss for participants to experience this! For many, it was only an hour or two less than the recommended daily sleep amount of 8 hours. Similarly, those who slept less than 8 hours found they experienced more negative emotions such as sadness, worry and stress.
So, if you are struggling to feel positive emotions more often than negative ones, sleep loss could be the reason.
These research findings have clear implications for your emotional well-being and individual psychological health. It shows that symptoms of anxiety and depression could be minimised and possibly overcome by relearning how to sleep well for 8 hours, without interruption.
How to sleep for longer, uninterrupted
There are many natural strategies you can use to support longer sleep. Here are 5 natural ways to improve your sleep without buying any supplements or gimmicky products. No matter which one you choose to adopt first, remember to consistently apply it.
If you are struggling to sleep well each night work with me to receive a tailored approach to solve your sleep challenge, then book a confidential call with me and we can explore together how you can transform your sleep experience.
