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We all know by now just how important sleep is to overall health and well-being, and science continues to attest to this. In fact, continued sleep deprivation can become just as harmful as drunk driving, and can even lead to a higher risk of diabetes, stroke, and heart disease.
As if that’s not bad enough, new research has also found that not getting enough sleep has another, undesirable side effect.
Anger.
In the study, 142 participants were assigned to groups to either maintain their normal sleeping schedule, or to restrict their sleep. The unrestricted group averaged seven hours a night, while the restricted group averaged roughly four and a half hours a night. The researchers then had the participants follow up with an assessment in the lab, where they rated a variety of products, once while listening to brown noise (similar to spraying water), and then while listening to white noise. The results showed that for those who were sleep restricted, a universal intensification of anger was experienced, while anger levels for those who were unrestricted with sleep were significantly lower.
If you think about the last time you didn’t get enough sleep, how did you feel? Chances are that on top of not feeling too energetic, your fuse was also probably running a little short.
Sleep may arguably be one of the most important components when it comes to our wellness. In the study previously mentioned, not getting enough sleep can intensify feelings of anger, which would explain why our patience seems to run a little, well, thin, when we skimp on sleep. And the longer we go without getting enough sleep, the worse this symptom becomes.
Fatigue is often overlooked as one of the causes of anger and/or stress. We may attribute our overreactions to other causes, such as work stress, being too busy, or other daily stressors, rather than looking to our nightly habits.
In sum, if you’ve been noticing more overreactions in your behavior, or that you’re just angrier in general, chances are that you’re not getting enough sleep. So do yourself (and your health) the favor, and get some more Zzs.
Related: 10 Tips for a More Restful, Refreshing Sleep.
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