Table of contents:
- Various mental problems that may occur due to lack of sleep
- 1. The brain is finished slow
- 2. It's easy to forget
- 3. Difficulty accepting new information
- 4. Trigger mental illness
Meeting school children and office workers who seem sleep deprived is no longer a new phenomenon on the streets. You may even have been up late staying up all night yourself. But watch out. Not only does lack of sleep make you sluggish and sleepy throughout the day, your brain function also plummets, which can lead to various mental health problems. Oops!
Various mental problems that may occur due to lack of sleep
1. The brain is finished slow
Researchers have found that lack of sleep can lead to decreased alertness and brain concentration. It's no wonder that after hours (or even days) of not sleeping well, you become confused, forgetful, and have trouble thinking clearly. In the medical world, this thinking disorder caused by a tired brain is often referred to as a brain fog. But you may be more familiar with the term slow . A sluggish brain makes it difficult for you to make important decisions.
Even though it seems trivial, this brain fog should not be underestimated. Brain fog can be an early symptom of dementia.
2. It's easy to forget
When you are sleepy, you tend to forget easily. Apart from worsening brain concentration and focus, due to lack of sleep, memory also slowly deteriorates.
The reason is that while you are sleeping, the nerves in the brain that store memories are strengthened. An expert from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in the United States (US), dr. Avelino Verceles, said, "While sleeping, the brain records various things that we have learned and experienced during the day into short-term memory." (That's why you shouldn't go to sleep in a rage either)
3. Difficulty accepting new information
Lack of sleep can affect your ability to understand new information in two ways. First, you will become so unfocused that it is difficult to accept new information. That way, you can't study efficiently.
Second, as mentioned above, lack of sleep has an impact on memory abilities. A weak memory will make it difficult for you to store new information that you are learning in memory.
4. Trigger mental illness
Lack of sleep is not a direct cause of mental disorders. However, various studies have found a large potential for the emergence of several mental illnesses, such as depression, ADHD, anxiety disorders, and bipolar disorder as a result of lack of sleep.
A study in Michigan, USA, looked at a thousand people aged 21 to 30 years. The result, those who suffered from insomnia at the first interview had a four times greater risk of suffering from depression when interviewed again three years later. Another study found that sleep problems predate depression. In addition, depression sufferers who experience insomnia will be more difficult to cure than those without insomnia.
In one study, experts found that insomnia and other sleep disorders may exacerbate episodes of mania (manic) or depression (depressive) in patients with bipolar disorder. Lack of sleep itself is believed to trigger episodes of mania, which is a phase of emotional outburst or uncontrollable behavior.
The result of lack of sleep can also trigger anxiety disorders. One study reports that about 27 percent of patients with anxiety disorders begin with insomnia, which makes it difficult for a person to sleep.
