This Essay goes into how sleep deprivation can easily mimic other mental disorders, if not be a direct cause for them. It goes into the neuroscience behind these disorders and puts them next to the effects of insomnia for a comprehensive comparison.
A lack of sleep has often been associated with a bad mood. However, according to UC Berkely
and the Sleep Centers of Middle Tennessee, it could mean something much worse. We often view sleep
disturbances as a symptom of certain psych disorders, but only recently has it been acknowledged as a
potential source. A sleep deprivation study was performed by UC Berkely in 2007 which found that
without sleep, the Amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for self-preservation in dangerous
situations, goes into overdrive. Next, the prefrontal cortex shuts down. The pre-frontal cortex is the part of
the brain responsible for intelligently regulating our thoughts, actions, and emotions through extensive
connections throughout the brain. With the prefrontal cortex disconnected from the amygdala, there was
no mechanism to shut down the flight or fight response in participants. In a sleep deficit, the study found
that the amygdala instead attached to the locus coeruleus which releases noradrenaline, which would in
theory help keep the person awake and alert. The lack of rationality due to the disconnect from the
prefrontal cortex mixed with the effects of the noradrenaline could easily present itself as clinical
paranoia, a symptom of PTSD. This study also showed a 30% spike in anxiety levels in sleep deprived
participants according to Sleep Centers of Middle Tennessee.
As we’ve seen, sleep deprivation can bring about anxiety and PTSD like symptoms, but does it
cause these conditions, and can it make preexisting cases worse? Another study was done by James Gerth
with this hypothesis in mind with a specific focus on PTSD and depression. The second hypothesis was
that psych disorders would create or worsen sleep issues that would worsen the disorder, leaving
participants in a positive feedback loop. In 2008, the longitudinal study consisted of 779 participants, all
Palestinian adults with varying degrees of education whose trauma was from experiencing or witnessing
political violence. This study took place over six months with one initial and one follow-up interview.
Participants were asked to rank their PTSD on a scale of one to four, four being the most severe and then
asked how many nights a week they slept and for how many hours. This was repeated at the follow up.
They found that initially the trauma induced sleep issues such as insomnia, night terrors, or nightmares
led to independent cases of PTSD, validating the first hypothesis. However, at the follow up, PTSD and
other symptoms did not lead to further sleep disturbances. It is theorized that this could be because
participants had unregulated sleep habits prior to the study and that they had stabilized during the test
period, but further research would be necessary.
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