Studies show people who are sleep deprived report increases in negative moods (anger, frustration, irritability, sadness) and decreases in positive moods. And sleeplessness is often a symptom of mood disorders, such as depression and anxiety.
The cumulative long-term effects of sleep loss and sleep disorders have been associated with a wide range of deleterious health consequences including an increased risk of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, heart attack, and stroke.
Most adults need at least seven hours of quality sleep each night. Sleep deprivation can cause daytime sleepiness, mood shifts, difficulty concentrating, and slower thinking. Long-term sleep deprivation may play a role in the development of health problems.
A number of chronic health conditions may be affected by not getting enough sleep on a regular basis. These include high blood pressure, diabetes, heart failure, coronary heart disease and some cancers. You may also be more likely to have a stroke. You're at greater risk of injury.
This can be a single night or last for weeks, months or even years. If a person has sleep deprivation, they can recover by getting sufficient quality sleep. However, when sleep deprivation is severe or has lasted a long time, it can take multiple nights — or even up to a week — for a person to recover.
While insomnia can be a symptom of psychiatric disorders, like anxiety and depression, it is now recognized that sleep problems can also contribute to the onset and worsening of different mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, and even suicidal ideation.
For a science fair project in 1965, Randy Gardner set the world record by going 264 hours — roughly 11 days — without sleep. This resulted in significant declines in his concentration, motivation, perception, and higher-level mental processes.
After two days of no sleep, you can count on increased irritability, anxiety, foggy memory, and impaired thinking, says Hussam Al-Sharif, MD, a pulmonologist and sleep medicine specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
The longest time a human being has gone without sleep is 11 days and 25 minutes. The world record was set by … American 17-year-old Randy Gardner in 1963.
The bare minimum of sleep needed to live, not just thrive, is 4 hours per 24-hour period. Seven to 9 hours of sleep are needed for health, renewal, learning, and memory. Disruption of the sleep cycle from shift work creates problems for the quality and quantity of sleep.
Research suggests that hallucinations are likely after 48 hours without sleep. People may begin to have blurry or double vision, which may progress into distortions of reality and hallucinations.
Studies also show that sleep deficiency changes activity in some parts of the brain. If you're sleep deficient, you may have trouble making decisions, solving problems, controlling your emotions and behavior, and coping with change. Sleep deficiency has also been linked to depression, suicide, and risk-taking behavior.
Your emotions are regulated in the brain — most notably, by the amygdala. When you are sleep deprived, the amygdala goes into overdrive. It produces more intense emotional reactions to difficult situations. In fact, one study found that sleep deprivation can increase activity in the amygdala by as much as 60%.
Early effects of sleep deprivation can include irritability, anxiety, and a sense of being disconnected from your thoughts and feelings. After 48 hours without sleep, you will likely experience several severe symptoms, including hallucinations and an inability to think clearly.
If you're having problems sleeping, you might: be more likely to feel anxious, depressed or suicidal. be more likely to have psychotic episodes – poor sleep can trigger mania, psychosis or paranoia, or make existing symptoms worse.
Get regular exercise during the day. Keep the bedroom quiet, dark, and cool. Turn off electronic devices and keep them away from the sleeping area. Limit the consumption of caffeine and alcohol, especially close to bedtime.
However, when a lack of sleep results in an accident or other bodily harm, the patient might be admitted to the hospital for treatment of a condition resulting from insomnia. Worsening pain or increased difficulty breathing at night also may indicate a person needs to seek emergency medical care.
Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) can help you control or eliminate negative thoughts and actions that keep you awake and is generally recommended as the first line of treatment for people with insomnia. Typically, CBT-I is equally or more effective than sleep medications.