It has been said that without enough sleep, we all become tall 2-year olds.
I’ve been working with business people who are "under the pump", getting many things ready for the financial end of year on March 31.
They have been working around the clock; not getting enough sleep so they can meet their deadlines.
While working this way may mean we get results, it also means we may not manage our emotions. We can become more irritable and anxious.
We often end up saying or reacting in ways we would not under normal circumstances.
A laboratory study was conducted in September 2021 at the Sleep and Performance Research Centre at Washington State University.
Healthy adults spent four days in a controlled environment, during which they underwent a battery of tests assessing memory, cognition and emotional regulation.
Interestingly, sleep deprivation in this study did not appear to affect performance on attention or working memory tasks.
However, a significant effect was observed on emotional regulation. Specifically, participants became more negative.
We have all probably overreacted when tired, or been on the receiving end of such an outburst.
However, when we are tired, we cannot always help it because lack of sleep interferes with our brain’s usual areas of emotional regulation.
This was revealed by researchers using MRI technology at the University of California in 2019.
The amygdala, an area deep in the brain, is our emotional control centre.
When sleep-deprived participants were shown emotionally negative images, activity levels in the amygdala were much higher than levels in those who were rested. Researchers found that sleep deprivation had disrupted the connection between the amygdala and the medial prefrontal cortex.
This was a critical insight as the medial prefrontal cortex itself regulates amygdala function. Sleep deprivation appears to cause the amygdala to overreact to negative stimuli because it becomes disconnected from brain areas that normally moderate its response.
A 2018 study from the same university looked at one night’s loss of sleep on anxiety and emotional regulation in 18 healthy young adults.
After one night of no sleep, participants reported a 30% rise in anxiety levels, compared to how they had felt the day before. People who were allowed a full night’s sleep had no such increase in anxiety.
If your workmate or a person in your home has been under intense work pressure at the expense of their sleep and they have overreacted lately — cut them some slack.
Even better, give them an opportunity to get some uninterrupted sleep.
If that sounds like you, be kind to yourself and prioritise your sleep.
While it may seem admirable to "tough it out" to meet an important deadline, you are not your best when you are tired.
Google "how to get sleep better" and you will find lots of tips, like "wind down screen time at least an hour before bed" and "keep a consistent sleep schedule".
You can practise mindfulness, reduce your caffeine intake and increase your daily exercise.
Another option is that you could try having two sleeps, like workers did in the 1700s and earlier.
Historian Roger Ekirch, a professor at Virginia Tech University in the United States, discovered that peasants used to go to sleep at dusk, then wake about midnight for a few hours when it was quiet and there were no work demands on their time.
One theory is that this explains some people’s tendencies to be night owls or insomniacs.
My best tip for starting your "first sleep" is to lie on the couch in front of Married At First Sight. That puts me to sleep in no time!
When we experience a full night of high-quality sleep, we power our brain’s emotional control centre, which works to balance out our reactivity and anxiety.
Making time and creating the conditions for restful sleep has a direct and immediate effect on our mood and emotional stability.
We can be better leaders, workmates and family members — and we can act our age.
- Kate Hesson is director of Hesson Consultancy.
