Did you know? Lack of sleep can make you more angry!

Washington DC: According to one study, not getting enough sleep makes you more angry, especially in frustrating situations. The research of Iowa State University was published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

"Other studies have shown a link between sleep and anger, but questions remain about whether sleep loss is to blame or whether anger is responsible for the sleep disturbance," said Zlatan Krizan, a professor. of psychology in the state of Iowa. The research answers these questions and provides new information about our ability to adapt to irritating conditions when we are tired.

"Despite the usual tendency to get used to the irritating conditions – an uncomfortable shirt or a barking dog – people with sleep disorders showed a tendency to anger and distress, essentially reversing their ability. to adapt to frustrating conditions, that before, "Krizan said.

The study participants were randomly divided into two groups: one maintained normal sleep and the second limited sleep for two to four hours per night for two nights. Those who stayed on average slept nearly seven hours a night on average, while the small group had four and a half hours each night. The difference reflects the sleep loss we experience regularly in daily life, said Krizan.

To measure anger, Krizan and Garrett Hisler, a PhD student in psychology at UIS, asked participants to come to the lab – before and after sleep manipulation – to evaluate different products while listening to a brown noise (similar to its water spray) or more. aversive white noise (similar to a static signal). Krizan says the goal was to create uncomfortable conditions, which tend to cause anger.

"In general, anger was significantly stronger in people with sleep disorders," said Krizan. "We manipulated how annoying the noise was during the task and, as expected, people reported more anger when the noise was more unpleasant.When sleep was restricted, people reported even more anger no matter the noise."

It is well established that losing sleep increases negative emotions, such as anxiety and sadness, and decreases positive emotions, such as happiness and enthusiasm, said Krizan. He and Hisler measured these effects to understand more generally the relationship between sleep, anger and emotions. Krizan says that they found that the loss of sleep had a unique impact on anger and not only resulted in a more negative feeling at that time.

The researchers also tested whether subjective sleepiness explained more intense feelings of anger. Drowsiness accounted for 50% of the experimental effect of sleep restriction on anger, suggesting that the feeling of drowsiness of individuals might indicate whether they are likely to become angry, Krizan said.