‘One enemy can do more hurt, than ten friends can do good.’ –Jonathan Swift
Both correlational and experimental evidence suggest that when people are sleep deprived, they feel more irritable, angry and hostile. Sleep loss is also associated with greater depressive mood. In addition, sleep deprivation seems to be associated with greater reactivity in that people who suffer from sleep loss are especially likely to react negatively when something doesn’t go well for them. For those of you interested in the brain – some research suggests that sleep deprivation enhances negative mood due to increased amygdale activity (a brain structure integral to experiences of negative emotions such as anger and rage) and a disconnect between the amygdale and the area of the brain that regulates its functions. In other words: increased negative mood, and decreased ability to regulate that anger.
