Sleepless and Stressed: How Losing Sleep Hurts Our Emotional Balance

This large-scale review by Palmer et al. (2024) examined how losing sleep affects our emotions. By analyzing data from over 150 studies with people aged 7 to 79, researchers found strong evidence that sleep loss—whether from staying up all night, getting too little sleep, or waking up frequently—negatively affects emotional health. It consistently reduced positive feelings, increased anxiety, and dulled emotional responses to situations. Some effects, like changes in sadness or negativity, depended on the type of sleep lost or how much was lost. The findings suggest that sleep plays a crucial role in helping us feel good, stay emotionally balanced, and respond to the world around us. This study emphasizes the need to protect sleep for emotional well-being and mental health.

Palmer, C. A., Bower, J. L., Cho, K. W., Clementi, M. A., Lau, S., Oosterhoff, B., & Alfano, C. A. (2024). Sleep loss and emotion: A systematic review and meta-analysis of over 50 years of experimental research. Psychological Bulletin, 150(4), 440-463. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000410

A woman peacefully sleeps in bed, wearing a fitness tracker on her wrist, highlighting modern technology's role in health monitoring.