What if it's lack of sleep?

Did you stand up with your left foot? A new international study reveals that it is not untreatable, but may simply be due to lack of sleep. Poor sleep quality, or poor quantity, can harm emotional functioning, affect positive mood, and put individuals at greater risk of developing symptoms of anxiety.

” In our largely sleep-deprived society, measuring the effects of poor sleep on emotions is crucial to promoting mental health “, explains Dr. Kara Palmer of Montana State University (United States), and lead author of the study, V. A I reported. ” This study represents the most comprehensive synthesis of experimental research on sleep and emotion to date, and provides strong evidence that long periods of wakefulness, decreased sleep duration, and night-time awakenings negatively impact human emotional functioning. “, she adds.

This work brings together at least five decades of research on poor sleep and mood, and is based on an analysis of data from 154 studies including 5,717 participants. The researchers had their sleep deliberately disturbed for one or more nights, stayed awake for a long time, slept less than usual, or were woken up regularly during the night, depending on the experiments. All studies also analyzed at least one emotion-related marker, whether it was self-reported mood, participants' response to emotional stimuli, or symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Fatigue but not only: anxiety and suspense that scares

Published in the magazine Psychological bulletinThe results revealed that lack of sleep does not only lead to fatigue, but on the contrary. It also negatively affects emotional functioning, especially positive mood, and increases the risk of anxiety and depressive symptoms. More specifically, regardless of the experience taken into account, the researchers observed detrimental effects on joy, happiness, and satisfaction among participants in this work, as well as an increase in anxiety symptoms that was significantly translated through faster heart rate.

” This occurred even after short periods of sleep deprivation, such as going to bed an hour or two later than usual or after losing only a few hours of sleep. We also found that poor sleep increases anxiety symptoms and dampens arousal in response to emotional stimuli ,” continues Dr. Kara Palmer.

Developing prevention in occupations prone to poor sleep

This study has some limitations, such as a lack of diversity in terms of age of participants (23 years on average) and cultures (US and Europe only), but it nonetheless makes it possible to evaluate the impact of poor sleep on children. The mental health of men and women, with possible consequences for their personal and professional lives.

” Research has shown that more than 30% of adults and up to 90% of teenagers do not get enough sleep. The implications of this research for individual and public health are significant in a largely sleep-deprived society. Industries and sectors vulnerable to sleep deprivation, such as first responders, pilots and truck drivers, should develop and adopt policies that prioritize sleep to mitigate risks to daytime performance and well-being. », concludes the lead author of this work.