First I asked you how
well you were sleeping here, then I
described what is really going on when you sleep here, and today I consider how loss of sleep affect your mood.
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| Up late watching tv? Watch out world! |
Last night you stayed up late (studying for a big exam,
preparing for a presentation, watching marathon episodes of Battlestar
Galactica), and today, when you’re already running low on sleep, it seems as if
the whole world is out to get you. Why is everyone so irritating? Why is the
traffic so bad? Who are these awful drivers? Or wait… could it just be you? A
plethora of research has shown that sleep deprivation affects your mood. A very
basic equation: sleep deprivation = increases in negative mood and decreases in
positive mood. But let’s break that down a bit more.
The effects of sleep on negative mood. Both correlational and
experimental (yes, researchers actually bring people into labs and keep them up
all night… any volunteers?) evidence suggest that when people are sleep
deprived, they feel more irritable, angry and hostile. Sleep loss is also associated with greater depressive
mood. In addition, sleep deprivation seems to be associated with greater
reactivity in that people who suffer from sleep loss are especially likely to react
negatively when something doesn’t go well for them. For those of you interested
in the brain – some research suggests that sleep deprivation enhances negative
mood due to increased amygdale activity (a brain structure integral to
experiences of negative emotions such as anger and rage) and a disconnect
between the amygdale and the area of the brain that regulates its functions. In
other words: increased negative mood, and decreased ability to regulate that
anger!
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| Source |
The effects of sleep on positive mood. It seems like there is
more research on sleep and negative mood, but researchers have found that
people who were more sleep deprived report feeling less friendly, elated, empathic, and
report a generally lower positive mood. Sleep deprivation also seemed to put a
damper on people’s ability to reap the emotional benefits of a positive
experience. In one study, people who were more sleep deprived did not report increased
positive affect after an achievement, whereas people who’d had an adequate
amount of sleep did feel better after their achievement (Zohar et al., 2005).
In short, try not to take on frustrating tasks, interact with
irritating people, or generally engage in too much social interaction when you
are very short on sleep (i.e., NOT a good time to go argue with your boss about
that promotion!). Also, try to make sure you get enough sleep before you
celebrate your achievements, such as an important graduation, since sleep may
help you savor them that much more! And if you do find yourself sleep deprived,
or know that those around you are suffering from sleep loss, trying giving
yourself (and them) a break… recognize you are more irritable because you are
sleep deprived, and give them a break when they get snappish.
Do you find yourself
irritable on days when you get too little sleep? Do you think you could change
how you act if you know that your irritability is likely due to sleep
deprivation?
Some of the articles:
Acheson, A., Richards, J., & de Wit, H. (2007). Effects of sleep deprivation on impulsive behaviors in men and women Physiology & Behavior, 91 (5), 579-587 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2007.03.020
Selvi Y, Gulec M, Agargun MY, & Besiroglu L (2007). Mood changes after sleep deprivation in morningness-eveningness chronotypes in healthy individuals. Journal of sleep research, 16 (3), 241-4 PMID: 17716271
Yoo SS, Gujar N, Hu P, Jolesz FA, & Walker MP (2007). The human emotional brain without sleep--a prefrontal amygdala disconnect. Current biology : CB, 17 (20) PMID: 17956744
Zohar D, Tzischinsky O, Epstein R, & Lavie P (2005). The effects of sleep loss on medical residents' emotional reactions to work events: a cognitive-energy model. Sleep, 28 (1), 47-54 PMID: 15700720
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