2024-01-17 05:15:00
Lack of sleep harms both physical and psychological health. An impact already highlighted in numerous studies. Thus, early nights are known to increase the risk of coronary accident and stroke.
Other vulnerabilities incurred by very young sleepers: overexposure to diabetes and obesity. Or an increased level of stress.
Less happy, more anxious
The latest study, carried out by Professor Cara Palmer (University of Montana, United States), focuses precisely on this point. Sleeping little and/or sleeping poorly tends to make us less happy and more anxious.
To shed light on this cause and effect link, scientists collected data from 154 studies carried out over more than 50 years, recruiting more than 5,700 volunteers. “This is the most comprehensive synthesis published to date on the evidence between prolonged wakefulness, reduced sleep time, nocturnal awakenings and emotional functions,” specify the authors.
A public health issue
Chronic lack of sleep is “very present in today’s society”, attests Professor Cara Palmer, author of this major analysis. “Today, 30% of the adult population and 90% of adolescents do not get enough sleep. »
During these experimental studies, all of the participants had seen their sleep interrupted for one or more nights.
In some protocols, volunteers were kept awake before being allowed to fall asleep. Others were entitled to a very small amount of sleep over a given period.
Whatever “the diet”, each participant had to regularly report their moods, their reactions, their level of anxiety or depressive symptoms.
Anxiety more than depression
And the result is clear. “Even after a short period of lack of sleep, positive emotions, joy, happiness, tend to diminish. At the same time, symptoms associated with anxiety increase such as heart rate and a tendency to worry,” continues Professor Palmer. “You just need to be awake 1 or 2 hours longer than usual to experience these feelings. » On the other hand, symptoms associated with depression were less recurrent.
However, beyond its robustness, this study has a limitation: “the average age was 23 years. In future research, we will benefit from recruiting more varied samples to study the impact of sleep deprivation at different ages of life. »
Another important point: “observe individual differences to understand why some people are more vulnerable than others to lack of sleep,” concludes Professor Palmer.
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