2024-01-09 16:21:25
January 9, 2024
Notice to young parents, teenagers who love sleepless nights, people prone to insomnia or night workers: lack of sleep increases stress levels and makes you less happy.
Lack of sleep harms both physical and psychological health. An impact already highlighted in numerous studies. Thus, early nights are known to increase the risk of coronary accident and stroke. Other vulnerabilities incurred by very young sleepers: overexposure to diabetes and obesity. Or an increased level of stress.
The latest study, carried out by Professor Cara Palmer (University of Montana, United States), focuses precisely on this point. Sleeping little and/or sleeping poorly tends to make us less happy and more anxious. To shed light on this cause and effect link, scientists collected data from 154 studies carried out over more than 50 years, recruiting more than 5,700 volunteers. “ This is the most comprehensive synthesis published to date of the evidence between prolonged wakefulness, reduced sleep time, nighttime awakenings and emotional functions. », Specify the authors.
This is a public health issue, chronic lack of sleep being “ very present in today’s society », attests Professor Cara Palmer, author of this major analysis. « Today, 30% of the adult population and 90% of adolescents do not get enough sleep. »
During these experimental studies, all of the participants had seen their sleep interrupted for one or more nights. In some protocols, volunteers were kept awake before being allowed to fall asleep. Others were entitled to a very small amount of sleep over a given period. Regardless of ” the system of government », Each participant had to regularly report their moods, their reactions, their level of anxious or depressive symptoms.
Anxiety more than depression
And the result is clear. “ Even following a short period of lack of sleep, positive emotions, joy, happiness, tend to decrease. At the same time, symptoms associated with anxiety increase such as increased heart rate and a tendency to worry », Continues Professor Palmer. “ You just need to be awake 1 or 2 hours longer than usual to experience these feelings. » On the other hand, symptoms associated with depression were less recurrent.
However, beyond its robustness, this study has a limitation: “ the average age was 23. In future research, we will benefit from recruiting more varied samples to study the impact of sleep deprivation at different ages of life. » Another important point: “ observe individual differences to understand why some people are more vulnerable than others to lack of sleep », concludes Professor Palmer.
Source: Psychological Bulletin, December 21, 2023
Written by: Laura Bourgault – Edited by: Emmanuel Ducreuzet
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