If you’re not sleeping well, your mental health is probably impacted, research shows
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- After looking over 50 years of research on sleep and mood, an analysis published by the American Psychological Association last week found that lack of sleep doesn't just make you feel more tired — it may actually impact how we function emotionally.
The analysis was published recently in the Psychological Bulletin journal. In a statement, the lead author of the study said that good sleep might be critical for psychological health improvements -- which is difficult to do in the constant go-go world we live in.
"Research has found that more than 30 percent of adults and up to 90 percent of teens don’t get enough sleep,” said Cara Palmer, PhD, of Montana State University. “The implications of this research for individual and public health are considerable in a largely sleep-deprived society."
Palmer says this research indicates that industries with high risk of sleep challenges, or sleep loss, should really consider policies prioritizing sleep to protect the well-being of truck drivers, pilots and first responders.
This project analyzed over 150 different studies from the last five decades. In total, over 5,000 people and their sleep habits were involved in the research. In some experiments, scientists interrupted the sleep of some participant -- and forced them to stay awake. In others, participants were only allowed to sleep a short time.
In reviewing all these findings, researchers discovered that no matter what kind of sleep loss — participants felt less happiness and contentment, and more anxiety and worrying. There were also impacts, though unclear, to feelings of depression.
Many of the participants in these studies were in their early 20s. The researchers believe there should be more testing on people of different ages to see how other groups might respond. Participants were in the United States and Europe.
Avery Martinez covers mental health in the Borderland as part of ABC-7’s Be Mindful initiative. He is also a Report for America corps member. RFA places talented, emerging journalists in newsrooms like ABC-7’s to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America is an initiative of The GroundTruth Project, an award-winning nonprofit journalism organization dedicated to rebuilding journalism from the ground up.
