Key Points
According to a study released by the American Psychological Association that synthesised more than 50 years of research on sleep deprivation and mood, it may hinder our emotional functioning, diminish good emotions, and increase our risk of anxiety symptoms...
In our largely sleep-deprived society, quantifying the effects of sleep loss on emotion is critical for promoting psychological health, said study lead author Cara Palmer, PhD, of Montana State University..
This study represents the most comprehensive synthesis of experimental sleep and emotion research to date, and provides strong evidence that periods of extended wakefulness, shortened sleep duration, and nighttime awakenings adversely influence human emotional functioning...
Overall, the researchers found that all three types of sleep loss resulted in fewer positive emotions such as joy, happiness and contentment among participants, as well as increased anxiety symptoms such as a rapid heart rate and increased worrying...
Other directions for future research could include examining the effects of multiple nights of sleep loss, looking at individual differences to find out why some people may be more vulnerable than others to the effects of sleep loss, and examining the effects of sleep loss across different cultures, as most of the research in the current study was conducted in the United States and Europe, according to the researchers...
