Short-term consequences of sleep disruption include increased stress responsivity; somatic problems; reduced quality of life (QoL); emotional distress; mood disorders and other mental health problems; cognition, memory, and performance deficits; and behavior problems in otherwise healthy individuals.
As we've mentioned, there can be numerous causes of interrupted sleep – from a sudden shift in routine, life events, unexpected noises, bedroom conditions, alcohol, caffeine, medications, or digital devices, as well as anxiety and depression, sleep apnea, insomnia.
During healthy sleep, a person progresses through a series of sleep cycles, each of which is made up of distinct sleep stages. Repeated interruptions and awakenings can disrupt that process. View Source , causing far-reaching effects of disrupted sleep on brain function, physical health, and emotional well-being.
While some people regularly function on short periods of sleep, research mostly agrees that six hours of sleep is not enough for most adults. Experts recommend that most adults need at least seven hours of sleep every night.
Multiple studies have shown that lack of slow wave sleep contributes to daytime grogginess and poor mood. Additionally, waking up during REM cycles interrupts our flow of aggregating memory. In order to make sure you wake up during light sleep, try and schedule your sleep in 90-minute multiples.
People who regularly experience broken sleep are crankier, angrier, and more likely to be depressed than those who sleep through the night. In fact, a night of interrupted sleep is much worse for your mood than a shorter night's sleep.
Most adults need 7 or more hours of good-quality sleep on a regular schedule each night. Getting enough sleep isn't only about total hours of sleep. It's also important to get good-quality sleep on a regular schedule so you feel rested when you wake up.
Bottom line: Interrupted nights don't give your body the restorative sleep it needs—and even brief wakenings will still disrupt natural sleep rhythm, says Sadeh.
Modern research suggests that sleeping twice in a 24-hour period (a sleep pattern that is alternately referred to as biphasic sleep, segmented sleep, or siesta sleep) may facilitate greater energy levels, alertness, cognitive function, and productivity.
In healthy individuals, short-term consequences include a heightened stress response; pain; depression; anxiety; and cognition, memory, and performance deficits. In adolescents and children, disrupted sleep can lead to poor school performance and behavior problems.
Calming activities that reduce stress may help people sleep more deeply. Relaxation exercises, deep breathing, yoga, and meditation can naturally reduce anxiety and may improve sleep.
A prolonged deprivation of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is associated with functional changes in multiple brain regions [14] and can result in altered receptor activity, which can lead to mood alterations such as anger [15].
Biphasic sleep describes a pattern of sleep in which a person sleeps in two segments, or phases, per day. View Source . Although many people sleep for seven or eight hours straight each night, biphasic sleep may be more common than you think. Biphasic sleeping is practiced by a variety of people across cultures.
You lie awake for long periods at night. You wake up several times during the night. You wake up early and be unable to get back to sleep. You feel down or in low mood. You have difficulty concentrating.
Sleeping beyond the 90-minute cycle may mean you fall deeper into your sleep cycle and will find it much harder to wake up. The best answer to this question is that some sleep is always better than none. Trying to get in a power nap or achieving that full 90-minute cycle is better for you than no sleep at all.
Waking up in the middle of the night is called insomnia, and it's a common problem. Mid-sleep awakenings often occur during periods of stress. Over-the-counter sleep aids rarely offer significant or sustained help for this problem.
“It becomes kind of like jet lag,” says Dr. Winter. “You wake up feeling kind of groggy, like you have a dull headache, maybe a bit of nausea, and lethargy—you just don't feel like doing anything.” Your best bet is to resist the urge to nod back off after you wake up.
If you or a loved one feel sleepy or fatigued, despite having 7-8 hours of sleep, it could indicate poor sleep quality or be a sign of an underlying sleep disorder. If you have questions or concerns about your sleep health, please speak with your primary care provider.
You should aim for about 13 to 23 percent of your sleep to be in these stages. So, if you get 8 hours of sleep, you should be getting anywhere between an hour and just under two hours of deep sleep.