Sleep Deprivation and Circadian Rhythms

The impacts of sleep deprivation on people of all ages have been found time and time again to be extremely negative.  The article in Association for Psychological Science titles The Hidden Costs of Sleep Deficits brings together the studies of many different labs who spend time testing how sleep deprivation effects different age groups and demographics and puts them in one place.  These findings show that when people are sleep deprived, they not only struggle cognitively, but also emotionally.  The tests done University of California, San Francisco showed results that sleep deprived people struggle to show empathy to others and have a more difficult time picking up on more subtle emotional cues.  These hindrances to the way people behave socially can have a dramatic impact on the work environment as well.  A separate study done by RAND Europe showed that the economic impact of sleep loss’s effects on workplace productivity is upwards of $660 billion per year in leading industrialized nations (United States, Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom).  Going beyond workplace productivity, a study done by Michael S. Christian of UNC Chapel Hill and Aleksander P.J. Ellis of University of Arizona showed that nurses who reported less than six hours of sleep the night before a shift were much more likely to engage in deviant and toxic workplace behavior.  Things such as making hurtful comments or intentionally working slowly were among these behaviors.

            These findings are especially interesting following Dr. Cavanaugh’s talk about circadian rhythms and how our body reacts negatively to changes in sleep quality and length.  The importance of getting the proper amount of sleep extends beyond just our body’s ability to function properly and go about its normal processes.  These studies have shown that even minor variances off our normal circadian cycles can cause extremely negative outcomes in our social behavior and workplace productivity.  The healthiness of an individual is extremely important on a physiological level, but the issue of sleep depravity is shown to go beyond this and affect the people around us which is arguably an even bigger issue.  By affecting others negatively, sleep deprived people are likely to influence the people around them that reduces the quality and length of their sleep to do stress and anxiety.

https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/the-hidden-costs-of-sleep-deficits