Sleep Deprivation and Anxiety: How One Fuels the Other

With your busy schedule, it can be tempting to cut back on sleep. However, skimping on sleep may only increase feelings of anxiety. New research shows how sleep deprivation and anxiety fuel one another in a problematic cycle. Understanding this connection can empower you to break the cycle and improve both your sleep and anxiety. Sleep deprivation has been shown to intensify symptoms of anxiety. Lack of sleep impacts the brain and body in ways that can increase anxiety and make it harder to cope with stressful events.

Sleep Deprivation Worsens Anxiety

When you don’t get enough sleep, your body produces more cortisol, the stress hormone, and less serotonin, the mood-regulating neurotransmitter. This chemical imbalance can make you feel more on edge and less able to remain calm in anxiety-provoking situations. Sleep deprivation also impairs the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain involved in emotional regulation and decision-making. This makes it harder to evaluate stressful events and maintain a balanced perspective. Anxiety may feel more overwhelming and uncontrollable without enough sleep. In addition, lack of sleep compromises the brain’s ability to consolidate and process emotional memories.

Cortisol Release

When you experience stress, your body releases cortisol to help regulate your mood and increase alertness. However, chronic stress causes cortisol levels to remain elevated, which can lead to anxiety and insomnia. Studies show that people with anxiety disorders often have higher cortisol levels, especially in the evening when cortisol naturally decreases.

The lack of sleep caused by increased cortisol and anxiety then causes cortisol levels to rise further, creating a vicious cycle. To break this cycle, focus on relaxation techniques like meditation, deep breathing, and limiting screen time before bed.

Emotional Dysregulation

Emotional dysregulation refers to difficulties controlling and managing emotional responses. When experiencing anxiety and sleep deprivation, your ability to regulate emotions can become impaired. With impaired emotional regulation, you may have trouble identifying what you’re feeling and describing your emotions to others. Your emotions can feel confusing, intense, and out of control. Your moods may shift rapidly and intensely, swinging from irritability to euphoria to sadness within a short period. These extreme fluctuations in mood can be difficult to predict or manage and often do not match the emotional tone of the situation.

After an emotionally triggering experience, it can take an excessively long time for your emotional and physiological arousal to return to a normal baseline. You remain in emotional turmoil and physical stress long after a situation has been resolved or passed. In the grips of emotional dysregulation, you may engage in impulsive behaviors that provide temporary relief but negative long-term consequences like substance abuse, binge eating, gambling, or reckless spending. Your ability to delay gratification and think through the implications of your actions is impaired.

Anxiety Can Cause Sleep Problems

The stress and worry caused by anxiety often make it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. Racing thoughts and rumination keep your mind active at night, making it hard to quiet your mind and relax into sleep. Physical tension from anxiety also prevents restful sleep. The muscle tension and restlessness caused by anxiety lead to an inability to fully relax. When you’re sleep-deprived, your amygdala becomes hyperactive, increasing feelings of fear and anxiety. At the same time, your prefrontal cortex is impaired, making it difficult to rationalize fearful thoughts and employ coping strategies. If anxiety is significantly impacting your sleep, talk to your doctor about treatment options such as therapy, medication, or relaxation techniques.

The relationship between anxiety and sleep deprivation is bidirectional. Anxiety causes sleep problems, and sleep problems cause an increase in anxiety. As a licensed therapist, I understand how debilitating anxiety can be and the role sleep plays in exacerbating symptoms. If you’re ready to break this cycle, book an anxiety therapy session with us today. I can help you better understand the relationship between sleep and anxiety and give you the tools to improve both.