Sleep Loss Linked to Negativity

Insufficient sleep may impose a negative emotional bias, leading to an increased tendency to evaluate emotional stimuli as negative, stated researchers.

Inadequate sleep for 5 consecutive nights was found to negatively affect emotional processing, causing behavioral and neurofunctional changes, revealed researchers.

For the findings, published in the Journal of Sleep Research, the research //team evaluated the effects of five nights of sleep restriction (5 hour a night) on emotional reactivity in healthy people.

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‘Inadequate sleep for five consecutive nights was found to foster negativity. ’

"Insufficient sleep may impose a negative emotional bias, leading to an increased tendency to evaluate emotional stimuli as negative," said study lead author Daniela Tempesta from University of L'Aquila in Italy.

According to the researchers, 42 participants were selected and were tested the morning after five nights of regular sleep and after five consecutive nights of sleep restriction.

During the test, participants evaluated valence and arousal of 90 images selected from the 'International Affective Picture System'.

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The participants perceived pleasant and neutral pictures in a more negative way when their sleep was restricted for several nights in a row.

The results provide the evidence that an inadequate amount of sleep for five consecutive nights determines an alteration of the evaluation of pleasant and neutral stimuli, imposing a negative emotional bias.

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The comfort of modern life comes at the cost of restful sleep! "Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone-Anthony Burgess" Scientifically it is proven that a good night's sleep is imperative for maintaining a balance between the physical, emotional and behavioral well-being of a person.

The researchers noted that the findings are especially pertinent because chronic sleep restriction is a common and underestimated health problem in the general population.

"Considering the pervasiveness of insufficient sleep in modern society, our results have potential implications for daily life, as well as in clinical settings," Tempesta noted.