But then, in the circumstance that a stressor interferes with your sleep and sleep deprivation sets in, you’re going to wake up and be more at risk for poor moods the next day. If you have had a difficult day, you’re more likely to have difficulty going to sleep or maintaining restful sleep at night. “There’s also a bidirectional relationship between mood and sleep. When we’re sleep deprived, we’re much more likely to take things out of context, which can spiral into negative thought patterns.
When things happen in our lives, virtually everything has the potential to be a stressor, but, it’s all about how we respond to stressors in our life.
Once we are sleep deprived, we have less ability to do what’s called perspective taking, as well. You become more irritable and anxious, there is more activity in the amygdala, which is the fight-or-flight response center for the brain. “There is a very strong and persistent relationship between sleep and mood, and then ultimately, mental health. How does stress and anxiety affect our sleep? And while those tests haven’t been done with COVID-19 yet, we believe that they are coming.” In experimental studies, if we compare those who get short sleep consistently to those who get healthy sleep, seven hours or more, those healthy sleepers have significantly better immunity and more likelihood of staying healthy despite exposure to rhinovirus or flu. Healthy sleep is absolutely critical at this strange time during the pandemic to stay healthy. “Immunity and sleep are so tightly linked.
How critical is sleep for staying healthy during this time?
Rebecca Robbins, a sleep researcher, member of the Scientific Advisory Board for ASYSTEM, and co-author of Sleep for Success!, to find out why getting good sleep is more difficult than ever, and how to ensure that we get better, longer, and more restful sleep now and in the future. Building better habits, adjusting your bedroom, and using technology to your advantage (but not too much) are all a part of the solution and easily available during the age of quarantine and social distancing.
Everything from your mood to your skin to your immunity suffers when you aren’t catching enough z’s, yet racing thoughts have a funny way of keeping you up no matter how desperately you need the rest.īefore accepting perpetual sleep deprivation, though, know that it’s 100 percent possible to course-correct your sleep routine, even in this era of extreme stress. Factor in the current global pandemic and all the nerves and anxiety that go along with it, and you have a recipe for fitful, sleepless nights stretching out for weeks on end. It’s one of the most vital parts of our existence, and yet, for something that might seem so simple (babies are masters of it, after all), it can be difficult for many.