Irritable, nervous and sensitive. It is the description of the state of any human being after a sleepless night. When we don’t sleep, ourbrainhe pays it dearly andreacts disproportionately, especially negative experiences, according to a study published in the journalCurrent Biology.
“Sleep restores our emotional brain circuits, and in doing so prepares us for the challenges of the day and social interactions,” says University of California researcher Matthew Walter, co-author of the work. If we do not meet the minimum hours of sleep, theprefrontal lobe, which is the region of the brain responsible for keeping emotions under control.
To reach this conclusion, Walter and his colleagues analyzed the brain activity of a group of volunteers who had been awake for more than 35 hours, using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Although they expected an intense response, the result took them by surprise: Emotional centers were 60 percent more reactive in sleep-deprived subjects. “Whenwe do not sleep, the brain returns to amore primitive pattern of activity, and we are unable to put emotional experiences in context and respond in a controlled and appropriate way, “warns Walter. And ensures that we are facing the most obvious demonstration of the risk involved in not getting enough sleep.” Lack of sleep alters brain mechanisms that regulate essential aspects of ourmental health-underline-;sleeping is not a luxurythat we can choose,it is a biological necessity“.
