Uninterrupted sleep the best
right). IF YOU want to be alert and ready to face the day, it’s better to have an uninterrupted night’s sleep, even if it’s not for the standard eight hours.
A new US study shows that interrupted sleep is less restorative, and leads to a worse mood than a lack of sleep caused by going to bed late.
Young parents and night workers are well aware that broken sleep makes you tired, but can also affect your mood.
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore in the US demonstrated that interrupted sleep and forced awakenings had a negative impact on mood.
These reduced energy levels and feelings of sympathy and friendliness on a bigger scale than a lack of sleep, or simply going to bed late.
The findings of this study suggest that negative mood levels such as sadness and anger emerged on successive nights.
The researchers also noted differences in sleep structure.
The group which had interrupted sleep had very short periods of deep, slowwave sleep, compared to the group of sleepers who went to bed late.
Deep sleep is the key to the feeling of restoration, the researchers say.
Insufficient deep sleep could, therefore, have a greater effect on reduced positive mood, tiredness, and energy levels.
This experimental study on humans also highlighted for the first time that the partial loss of sleep caused by successive awakenings is more damaging to mood than a lack of sleep, or a shorter night’s sleep.
The researchers also believe that these results suggest that there could be a connection between depressed moods and insomnia. – AFP
