3 a.m. is the most anxiety-inducing time for some people. This refers to waking up a few hours after closing your eyes and not being able to fall asleep again.
For others, it’s a scary time when they realize they haven’t fallen asleep yet. The clock is ticking toward waking time, but they haven’t even reached the dream cycle.
Losing sleep can lead to more than just a boring day. Sleep medicine scientists have proven that sleep deprivation is linked to poor health. And in recent years, sleep medicine researchers have gained a greater understanding of how sleep deprivation can jeopardize mental health.
Scientists and advocates are calling for more research and attention to what they warn is a growing public health problem.
Why you need sleep
Your body needs sleep, but not everyone can afford it. Sleep medicine researchers say this is similar to the absence of clean air, nutritious food, and fresh water.
“Sleep isn’t just something we do because we like it or because it’s good for our bodies. Sleep is a biological requirement of human life. This is a non-negotiable issue,” says Michael A. Grandner, associate professor of psychiatry and director of the Sleep and Health Research Program and Behavioral Sleep Medicine Clinic at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.
After the Industrial Revolution, Granner says, disorders like insomnia became romanticized and seen as part of a workplace culture where people who slept less were respected as strong, dedicated and capable of doing more. He says standards are changing and people are starting to recognize that sleep deprivation impacts a person’s physical and mental health.
“We are in a period of change in the way our society views sleep health in general,” he says.
Read more: The importance of sleep for the body
How Sleep Affects Mental Health
Some of the changes in the way people view their sleep health include: increased understanding The relationship between sleep and mental illness. Sleep disorders, such as insomnia, are a risk factor for mental health problems such as anxiety or depression.
Researchers are still learning about the relationship, but they are increasingly seeing how sleep disorders can predict the development of mental disorders.
sleep and memory
Scientists are still investigating the relationship between sleep and mental disorders, but Grandner said there are several theories, one of which has to do with memory. When a person sleeps, The brain processes and stores memories. Sleep disorders, such as insomnia, can disrupt this process and cause memory consolidation to be missed.
Therefore, these memories may be missing when we need to interpret social situations. Grandner gave the example of someone who noticed someone frowning at them. Past memories can help the person see the frown as part of the other person’s bad day, which can lead to empathy. But if you don’t have that memory, the frown may seem personal. This may cause the person to feel anxious or threatened.
“Memory and emotions are at the core of many common mental health problems,” says Grandner.
Sleep and Suicide Risk
Another theory considers how the brain functions in the middle of the night, when the body is supposed to be asleep. heart after midnight The hypothesis is that a tired brain that cannot sleep through the night does not function optimally. This is a risk factor for more extreme behavior.
The brain must be asleep and perform maintenance tasks such as processing and storing memories or regulating emotions. Instead, “reduced cognitive abilities and mood regulation” forces a shift into behavioral mode.
Self-harm, suicidal thoughts and violent crime soar overnight. Unhealthy behaviors such as substance abuse or poor food choices are also likely to occur. The hypothesis holds that it is during periods of sleep deprivation that the stage is set for future mental disorders.
“You can’t make good choices when your body wants to sleep,” says Grandner.
Read more: This is your brain that doesn’t sleep
5 Sleep Disorders
International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD) This is a diagnostic manual. Sleep disorders are classified into seven main groups:
There is insomnia disorder, which involves inability to fall asleep or stay asleep. Sleep breathing disorders include conditions such as sleep apnea, in which a person stops breathing. The third group, central disorders of hypersomnia, include narcolepsy and other forms of excessive sleepiness. circadian rhythm Sleep-wake disorders consist of disorders in which a person’s sleep-wake cycle is mismatched.
The fifth group, parasomnias, involve abnormal movements such as walking, talking, and eating. This group includes nightmares, night terrors, sleep paralysis. Parasomnias are different from a sixth group, sleep-related movement disorders, which are characterized by movements that interfere with sleep, such as restless leg syndrome. Finally, ICSD has an “other” category for disabilities that do not fall into any other group.
Read more: What Really Happens During Sleep Paralysis and How to Stop It
Which sleep disorders are most common?
Insomnia is probably most common Sleep disturbance. But scientists can’t say for sure how many people suffer from the disease.
“We really don’t know the prevalence of most sleep disorders in the population,” says Grandner.
Part of the problem, Grandner says, is that sleep studies are needed to diagnose disorders like sleep apnea. For some people, this may mean spending a night at a sleep clinic or wearing diagnostic equipment at home. These barriers prevent people from seeking a diagnosis and prevent scientists from fully knowing the epidemiology.
Read more: Irregular sleep schedules may pose health risks
sleep disorder research
Scientists who study sleep medicine say more research is needed. In the spring of 2024, approximately 36 members of the National Assembly will be elected. signed the letter Support funding for sleep health research so that agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can study sleep disorders in the U.S. population and gain a better understanding of their epidemiology.
“This is getting the community to vote for what we stand for. We’re saying, ‘Please, we need this information,’” Grandner says.
Read more: Can animals have sleep disorders too?
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Emilie Lucchesi has written for some of America’s largest newspapers, including The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Los Angeles Times. She earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and her master’s degree from DePaul University. She also holds her Ph.D. She majored in communications at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she focused on media framing, message construction, and stigma communication. Emilie has written three nonfiction books. Her third work, “Light in the Darkness: Surviving More Than Ted Bundy,” will be released October 3, 2023, by Chicago Review Press and is co-written with survivor Kathy Kleiner Rubin.
