As per the New Indian Express article published a couple of months back this year, the percentage of Indians who get less than 6 hours of quality sleep has increased gradually post-COVID. In 2022, the percentage stood at around 50; in 2024, it increased to 61. This is truly one of the few signs of sleep deprivation in the country that has to be addressed on a serious note.
There are several consequences associated with poor sleep quality and this brings the seriousness and urgency to address this as a concern. Pathetically, there are proven statistics and records for most ones. So, in this blog post, let’s delve much into the harmful effects of sleep deprivation on mental health, the most important consequence.
The facets of sleep deprivation
Before we directly get into the consequences, let’s try to understand the causes of poor sleep and the symptoms by which we can identify that we’re sleep-deprived. Nevertheless, each individual is unique and may have distinct reasons for poor sleep quality. Also, the course of events happening at different points in life contributes to sleep quality. So, always get yourself diagnosed with the help of a medical doctor or psychiatrist.
(i) Possible causes of lack of sleep
- Stress or depression
- Previous medical conditions
- Alcohol abuse
- Drug addiction
- Poor hygiene
- Unhealthy food intake
- Night shift work
- Hormonal changes
- Lifestyle habits
- Sleep disorder
- Smoking or other habits
(ii) Sleep deprivation symptoms
- Poor or unstable mental health
- Imbalance in brain coordination
- The feeling of napping during the day
- Low motivation for work
- Less sex drive
- Change in sleep patterns
- Feeling anxious or stressed
- Frequent memory loss
- Increased appetite and weight gain
More or less, these can be considered the consequences of poor sleep in an individual. In the most severe cases, the consequences may be more severe, like:
- Poor daily routine
- Aging of skin
- Onset of health issues
- Obesity or unusual weight gain
- Risk of death (a rare concern)
- Unexpected accident or disaster
Sleep affects your mental health: Is this true?
Yes, a night of good quality sleep is crucial for the mental well-being of human beings. When that is disturbed, spontaneously the other gets affected. After all, the first thing that gets affected is the activities of the brain. This is the reason why sleep plays a vital role in maintaining good mental health.
In other words, continuous sleep deprivation ends in brain fog, which is a condition that deteriorates your ability and capacity to think. Once brain fog happens, then productivity, coordination, memory, and behavior are affected. As a result, both your mental and physical health are impacted.
In general, the possible lack of sleep effects on mental health are:
- Stress disorder: Stress leads to poor sleep and also lack of sleep leads to stress and this is a vicious cycle. The same with depression and anxiety.
- ADHD: Research evidence proves that sleep disturbances have contributed to the development of ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder) in children.
- Bipolar disorder: Doctors claim that insomnia is one of the major contributors to developing bipolar disorder.
Is sleep deprivation reversible? How does sleep improve mental health?
In the majority of cases, sleep deprivation is reversible and individuals can resume their good-quality nocturnal sleep in weeks or months. So, ensuring a good sleep can get you out of poor mental health and, at the same time, improve your mental health on a long-term basis.
Conclusion
We hope, by now, you might have obtained the answers to your question, “How does lack of sleep affect mental health?” So, if you or any of your well-wishers are experiencing any sort of sleep issues, do check how it has affected your mental health, give your utmost care, and never hesitate to reach out to the doctor. This way, you can recover from sleep deprivation.
Improve your mental health by treating your sleep and related problems with comprehensive and personalized mental health care services from the leading rehabilitation centre in the country.
