How do Sleep Problems Affect Thought, Memory, and Emotions?

1 How do sleep problems affect thought, memory, and emotions? XXXXX Swinburne University Online PSY10007: Brain and Behaviour ELA: XXXXXXX XXXXXX 2 As much as everyone deserves and needs to sleep at some point in the day, not all are fortunate to enjoy this priceless luxury. Sleep problems or disorders are associated with an individual's quantity, timing, quality of sleep and even being attributed to mental health related issues. Sleep problems such as insomnia can, to worse extents, negatively impair thinking and memory capacity and even dictate the emotions of the affected individual. Sleep related issues have become a significant concern that can no longer be ignored. For this, a careful review of the effects caused by sleep problems on a person's thinking, memory, and emotions is necessary. Lack of sleep and sleep disorders can lead to dangerous thoughts and reduced alertness. The brain requires rest after work, and this is achieved through sleep. During sleep, the brain activities slow down, and it becomes more efficient. However, sleep deprivation causes the brain to struggle, affecting cognitive performance and the optimal functioning of neurons responsible for critical thinking. Various sleep disorders can also impact a person's thinking patterns. Sleep is scientifically proven to be crucial for the brain to function correctly (National Institutes of Health, 2023). A lack of sleep may impact the brains memory and emotional control parts. Memory loss can result from problems with these vital zones of the brain, which are involved in encoding and processing memories. These structures can be harmed and rendered ineffective by insomnia and other sleep disorders. Studies discussed in this paper reveal that sleep deprived persons are more likely to try to suppress their bad emotions when they are remembered. To test this notion, volunteers were asked to take part in an intrusion test after having different levels of sleep. The results suggested that persons who were sleep deprived and had more intrusive thoughts than those who were well-rested (Harrington et al., 2020). Because they provide diverse results, the two test groups are different. Sleep is essential in deciding behaviour since it influences a person's capacity to manage their thoughts when sleep deprived. Poor sleep quality and quantity can negatively impact an individual's health and even those in their surroundings. 3 The test results indicate that lack of sleep can lead to intrusive thoughts and memories in individuals. Not getting enough sleep can trigger such thoughts, making one vulnerable to negative emotions (Tempesta et al., 2015). Sleep loss can also affect thought control. Therefore, individuals should pay attention to their sleeping patterns to reduce the risk of this condition. To establish a link between sleep related disorders and potential mental health conditions, memory impairment control methods should be put into practise. It’s crucial to be aware of self-care in one’s sleeping routine. Employers should also consider lowering the night shift working hours to lower the risk of sleep related problems for night shift employees. Sleep issues and someone’s ability to remember things have a link. Short term and long-term memory loss are both caused by sleep disorders, including insomnia. Sleep deprivation can also affect mental awareness to some extent. An individual’s memory capacity is dependent on their brain’s response-ability. A healthy brain translates to a higher memory capacity than an unhealthy one. Sleep is a crucial factor that affects an individual's memory standards. The brain's processing of memories depends on neurons co-ordinating to relay information. The faster the brain processes, the quicker the reality. Only a healthy, well rested brain can process memories quickly. Sleep impacts how the brain works, which ultimately has an impact on how well people remember things. Brain processing is slower for people without a regular sleep schedule than those with good sleeping habits. While insufficient sleep might harm brain function, proper sleep aids improving it. There are consequences of total sleep deprivation on thinking, memory, and emotions in young people (Gerhardsson et al., 2019). For this study, 61 participants were randomly assigned to the control or complete sleep deprivation conditions. Of them, 40% were women; the average participant age was 23.4 years (Gerhardsson et al., 2019). Prior to being included, all participants completed online screening questionnaires to gather information about their health, sleeping habits, and sleep problems. It included subjects without severe sickness, sleep difficulties, or current or past psychiatric illnesses. The day before the test session, participants were told to 4 follow a regular sleep schedule and abstain from caffeine, alcohol, and exercise. The test session, which lasted 3 hours, began 2 hours after the emotional working memory test. Before the trial, sleep patterns were observed using a wrist actigraph and a sleep diary for three days. The outcomes showed that emotional working memory performance was negatively impacted by sleep loss as compared to the controlled condition. Particularly, participants in the total sleep deprivation condition performed the emotional working memory task less accurately than those in the control condition. It has been discovered that the quality of sleep can impact the emotional tone of our memories. Insufficient sleep can intensify the emotional content of our memories. People who suffer from sleep deprivation often experienced memory issues. Researchers can carry out voluntary research to examine how lack of sleep affects memory function. For instance, they can monitor learners sleeping patterns and access how well they recall information. One group of participants is permitted to unwind, while the other is prohibited from getting any rest. The findings show that children with healthy sleep habits do better on the memory test and those without (Cappello, 2020). Sleep quality directly impacts a person’s ability to remember information. One's memory function may be hampered by insufficient or poor-quality sleep, making it difficult to recall what they have learned. This poses issues where speedy recollection is required, and, in some cases, it results in complete amnesia. Additionally, a study found that people who do not get enough sleep frequently have predominantly unpleasant recollections, which can exacerbate the problem (Harrington et al., 2021). These results underlined the importance of prioritising healthy sleeping habits to guarantee regular access to enough sleep. To preserve our general health and wellbeing, we must receive enough sleep. When sleep deprivation is avoided, the brain can relax and do other activities more successfully. People who struggled to fall asleep tend to express their negative emotions more frequently than those who don't. Sleep problems can seriously harm the 5 capacity to manage one's emotions (Harrington et al., 2021). Our physical and mental health are two aspects that impact our emotions. Consequently, individuals with sleep-related problems often struggle with their mood, which also affects good sleepers. It is important to watch one’s sleeping programs to avoid the problem. People with difficulty sleeping frequently feel frustrated, which can result in anger problems. This illness impacts adults, adolescents, and children of all ages. Researchers utilise the feeling of anger to measure the severity of the effects of sleep loss on emotions (Tomaso et al., 2021). To test this theory, individuals without psychiatric conditions were monitored in sleep laboratories to observe their sleep patterns before later tasting how it affected their emotions. The participants were divided into two groups; one group was allowed to rest, while the other was deprived of sleep for over 27 hours. These groups were then allowed to interact to draw possible conclusions. Individuals who have had enough sleep are likely to avoid those who are sleep deprived and appear to be expressing anger. However, sleep deprived individuals tend to avoid everyone (Ben Simon & Walker, 2018). This indicates that sleep deprivation can reduce positive attitudes and increase the expression of anger. The decrease in positive mood supports the idea that a negative correlation exists between sleep issues, such as sleep deprivation, and affected individuals. Sleep deprived individuals commonly exhibit negative emotional behaviours like anger and fear. Our ability to think depends greatly on sleep. Lack of sleep can have various effects, including impaired memory, increased risk of accidents, and low attention (Ben Simon et al., 2020). A person needs enough sleep to be physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy. The amount of Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and deep sleep a person gets determines how sleep impacts memory. Reduced REM sleep shows the brain’s memory process due to insufficient sleep (Summer & Singh, 2023). People have trouble remembering things when they do not have enough REM sleep. Deep sleep, which happens at nights end when their bodies naturally rest, is 6 crucial for memory recall. Hormones are released at this time, and their brains are storing memories. Individuals who do not get enough sleep are more likely to remember traumatic incidents, particularly those that are emotionally upsetting and stressful.