A Poor Night Sleep Really Can Make You Angrier, Research Says
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Although research has previously linked sleep problems to decreased mental wellbeing, new research in the journal Psychological Bulletin provides the most comprehensive deep dive yet on the connection. Short version: Less shuteye leads to reduced emotional functioning.
Researchers looked at 154 studies that spanned 50 years, with 5,715 total participants. Although there were different protocols involved, all of the studies examined deliberate sleep disruption to determine the effects of insomnia and other sleep pattern difficulties on emotional health. Data included self-reported mood changes, as well as measures of depression and anxiety.
Overall, researchers found sleep loss resulted in fewer positive emotions such as joy, contentment, and happiness, and a significant increase in worrying, sadness, and stress. Even just a few hours of sleep loss in a short period—for example, staying up late for a couple days in a row—led to mood shifts and anxiety symptoms.
In terms of why this might happen, previous research in the journal Cureus has noted that sleep deprivation can affect multiple brain regions—particularly the amygdala—that are connected to mood regulation. Not only can this cause depression and anxiety, but that research also linked lack of sleep to more emotional reactivity and anger.
How to Actually Get More Sleep
Establishing that quality sleep is important can actually help you get more of it, but simply understanding that info may not be enough to lull you into non-interrupted, restorative slumber. The fact is that it often takes time and effort to determine what works best for you in terms of sleep tactics, according to W. Chris Winter, M.D., neurologist and founder of the Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine, and author of The Sleep Solution.
Common “sleep hygiene” strategies abound, including keeping your bedroom cool at night, going to bed and waking up at the same time every day (including the weekends), reducing screen time for at least an hour before bed, and limiting naps to once or twice per week. But what happens if your bedtime routine is bulletproof, but you’ve still struggling? Try these tips:
Get Morning Light
Winter tells Bicycling that it may be time to explore more options outside of those typical hygienic practices. For starters, pay attention to what you do during the day. For example, research suggests that getting natural light—even on cloudy or rainy days—as soon as possible in the morning can help your internal sleep-wake “clock” so it resets properly.
The Centers for Disease Control suggests that bright morning light is particularly powerful, and can not only help with sleep, but also boosts your alertness level during the day.
Switch Up Your Workout Timing
Another tip is to play around with exercise timing, Winter adds. Some people do well with afternoon or evening exercise and still sleep soundly, but that’s not the case for everyone. Try switching to morning exercise instead for a couple weeks and see if that simple schedule change might be helpful for sleep quality.
Try a New Mattress
Even rethinking your mattress can be a crucial step. Although specialists used to recommend an extra firm mattress as the ideal choice for proper back support, that guidance is now considered outdated, according to Neel Anand, M.D., director of spine trauma at Cedars-Sinai Spine Center in Los Angeles.
“Research now tells us that a too-hard mattress may actually contribute to back pain because there isn’t enough ‘give’ near pressure points like your hips and shoulders,” he tells Bicycling. Instead, he suggests looking for a mattress that supports the natural curve of the spine when lying flat and on your side, which tends to be a medium-firmness choice.
Get Help
If you’ve tried a breadth of options and it’s still tough to sleep well, Winter suggests talking with your doctor and possibly getting a sleep study done, which can highlight whether there are deeper issues at play, such as sleep apnea.
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