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Sleep Loss Quickly Impairs Mental Well-being
Three consecutive nights of fewer than 6 hours of sleep caused the mental and physical well-being of US adults to greatly deteriorate, according to study results published online ahead of print in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine.
“Consecutive sleep loss was associated with degraded trajectories of daily affective and physical well-being,” wrote study author Soomi Lee, PhD, an assistant professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa. “Making efforts to break the vicious cycle of sleep loss may protect daily well-being in adults whose sleep time is often compromised.”
The finding stemmed from an analysis of data for 1958 relatively healthy, well-educated adults in the Midlife in the United States study. As part of the study, participants provided a daily diary of sleep data and physical and mental behaviors over an 8-day period.
Systematic Evaluation of Excessive Daytime Sleepiness Suggested to Uncover Comorbidities
After just 1 night of sleeping less than 6 hours, or “sleep loss,” mental and physical symptoms rose, according to the study. Symptoms steadily increased as consecutive nights of sleep loss continued, until they peaked on day 3. Afterward, participants appeared to get used to the repeated sleep loss until, on day 6, physical symptom severity was at its highest. Mental and physical symptoms did not return to baseline levels until participants slept longer than 6 hours.
Sleep loss was associated with anger, nervousness, loneliness, irritability, and frustration. Physical symptoms included upper respiratory issues, aches, and gastrointestinal problems.
“Many of us think that we can pay our sleep debt on weekends and be more productive on weekdays,” said Dr Lee. “However, results from this study show that having just one night of sleep loss can significantly impair your daily functioning.”
—Jolynn Tumolo
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