Women experience more stress than men when sleep deprived

Of survey respondents who said lack of sleep affected them more mentally than physically; 40 percent cited increased stress as the greatest problem. In a gender gap, women named stress as the culprit in higher numbers than men, 51 percent to 29 percent, respectively. Compounding the problem: sleep deprivation and stress can become a vicious cycle. "If you're sleep-deprived, you're more likely to be distracted and irritable, and experience more stress. And stress, in turn, can interfere with sleep," says Dr. Mahowald.

For many, the consequences of sleep deprivation - higher stress, shortened tempers, lower motivation and slower reflexes - often constitute a normal day. But the implications are serious, causing decreased productivity, impaired performance and increased accidents and mistakes.

The solution: the public needs to re-adjust their attitudes and recognize sleep as an essential biological need, not a luxury. Instead of pushing harder and accomplishing less, adults need to call time out and rest. Everyone should feel they have the right to go to bed early or sleep late when they feel tired. "Getting a good night's sleep in a restful sleep environment is one of the most productive things anyone can do for themselves to improve their personal and professional quality of life," says Andrea Herman, Director of the Better Sleep Council.

The Sleep-Think Link

You may be asleep, but your brain is hard at work. Researchers believe the brain stores new information into memory -- and clears out the day's clutter during the night.

The following information was compiled from interviews with neurological and sleep experts including: Studbansu Chokroverty, M.D., Professor of Neurology, Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center, New Jersey; Bruce McNaughton, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology and Physiology, University of Arizona; Mark Mahowald, M.D., Director, Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center; James D. Walsh, Ph.D., Director, St. Luke's Hospital Sleep Medicine and Research Center, Missouri; Matthew Wilson, Ph.D., Researcher and Assistant Professor, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Among survey respondents, mental fatigue is cited as the most serious consequence of sleep deprivation, including impaired concentration, performance and motivation -- as well as irritability, increased stress and reduced reflex reaction time.

Sleep and Memory Research

Recent studies show, for the first time, that dreaming and deep sleep are important to learning and memory. Drs. Avi Karni and Dov Sagi found that during sleep people improve skills learned by repetition. The research revealed that the stage of sleep where dreaming occurs, rapid eye movement (REM), is important for consolidating memory. The research was conducted at the Weizmann Institute in Rechovot, Israel.

Animal studies conducted at the University of Arizona in Tucson show that sleep helps process and reorganize short-term memory of actual experiences into long-term memory.

Nearly half of the population (47 percent) mistakenly believes that the brain rests when the body sleeps. The opposite is true. Drs. Matthew Wilson and Bruce McNaughton found evidence that sleep allows the brain to go to work, using the time during sleep to "file and store" activities that occurred while awake. "Most people incorrectly think the brain is resting or recuperating during sleep. Actually some parts of the brain are more active when you're asleep," confirms Dr. Mark Mahowald, Director of the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center. The brain uses sleep as time to organize and store accumulated information rather than processing input from the external world as it does during waking hours. Sleep is instrumental for remembering and learning new information or skills. When sleep is disrupted, the brain's ability to transfer short-term memory into long-term memory is impaired.

Since the brain can retain new information only for a limited time, information may be lost or forgotten when the brain is deprived of sleep. Experiments in Canada demonstrated that students who slept after studying for an exam retained more information than those who stayed awake overnight.