How sleep deprivation affects the psyche Attribute to: Gregorio Lozano, a licensed therapist with Grow Therapy
Sleep is absolutely essential for cognitive and psychological wellness. There’s a reason we require sleep and it’s due to the restoration of the entire body to even include physical health as well.
When we lose the restorative effects of sleep, we can become more sensitive to stress and thus our response to stress becomes heightened.
Association between sleep deprivation and mental health disorders
When you have a mental health condition that can impact sleep, this sleep deprivation in turn, worsens the mental health condition and can turn into a cycle that would benefit greatly from professional treatment.
Many mental health conditions, especially mood disorders such as Major Depressive Disorder and the spectrum of bipolar disorders carry with them a symptom of insomnia as criteria. In the 12 years I worked alongside prescribers in community mental health clinic, the number one symptom they would look for were for any changes in sleep. Usually, changes in sleep begin to take place prior to shifts in mood, such as “relapse.”
How sleep deprivation impacts sexual health and well-being
From a mental health wellness point of view, if one considers the emotional and physical discomfort that lack of sleep induces, then it can greatly affect sexual health. Sexual activity requires an emotional investment so that it can be fully enjoyable.
How much sleep do people need to preserve or improve mental health?
As little as 24 hours of sleep deprivation can begin to result in psychotic-like symptoms such as hallucinations. Beginning with auditory hallucinations and then visual and/or touch related sensory disturbances.
The amount of sleep people need can vary from person to person. The standard recommended number is 8 hours, but some people don’t need as much whereas others may require a bit more. Of course, factors such as stress levels can impact the quality of sleep, certain medical conditions such as sleep apnea, or if a person works an overnight job.
What you can do if struggling with sleep difficulties
Seeing a health professional is the first line of response. Whether you prefer to see a behavioral/mental health therapist to see what’s keeping you up at night, or to see a medical physician if there is nothing that you can figure out would be causing such sleep difficulties. A mental health clinician can utilize cognitive behavioral therapy to assist in pinpointing factors that could be contributing to your insomnia, and then addressing them. In contrast, a physician can prescribe sleep aids to help you sleep well at night.
Dietary factors can also contribute to poor sleep hygiene. For instance, caffeine is a great contributing factor in this. It may be reasonable to conclude that if one consumes it so early in the day as in early in the morning that the effect wears out by nighttime but that’s not always the case. To determine if you’re indeed sensitive to the effects of caffeine when it comes to your sleep, try going on a fasting period to see it your sleep improves or not. Another culprit that may seem counterintuitive can be alcohol. Though alcohol can have sedative effects, it is known to disturb sleep in some people. Again, if you suspect this could be a factor, consider a fasting from alcohol to see if this makes a difference.
Lifestyle changes can also help such as exercising. Even light to moderate exercise can help improve sleep at night (just assure it’s not too late in the day to where you still have the energy from it).
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
