I was talking with a friend of mine recently and he was telling me that he was very tired. He couldn’t fall asleep the night before because he said he was too anxious. He had recently lost his job and was feeling a lot of stress from that.

Unfortunately, not sleeping because he was too anxious could lead to more feelings of anxiety, paranoia, depression, and much more.

Most adults need about seven hours to eight hours of nightly sleep to feel alert and well rested. The amount of sleep that you need stays about the same for your entire adult life, but your ability to sleep through the night can decrease as you age.

Sleep deprivation can happen to anyone but is more common in adolescents, among whom restricted sleep times are common, caregivers who look after the needs of a family member who has a chronic illness, shift workers, people who have sleep disorders that cause insufficient sleep and people who have a medical condition that causes insufficient sleep, such as Parkinson’s disease.

The causes, symptoms, and effects of sleep deprivation vary from person to person. Sleep deprivation may affect:

Mood

  • Irritability
  • Lack of motivation
  • Anxiety
  • Symptoms of depression

Performance

  • Lack of concentration
  • Longer reaction times
  • Lack of coordination
  • Poor decision
  • Increased errors
  • Forgetfulness

Health

  • High blood pressure
  • Heart attack
  • Obesity
  • Diabetes