How Does a Lack of Sleep Affect Behavior?

Video Transcript

"Hello. My name is Dr. Robert Hernandez. I'm a psychologist in Miami, Florida, and I'm president and owner of Lafafalu Retreat House. Now when a person hasn't had a lot of sleep, usually they get a little cranky, and those of us around those types of people are a little bit bothered. So, one of the things that happen when a person doesn't sleep the way they should is crankiness. The person is irritable. That can also promote depressive symptoms: depression, anxiety. So, mood disorders are very much linked to lack of sleep, and why does this happen? Again,while you're sleeping you're having different hormones going through the body that affects how your nervous system reacts, and the sympathetic nervous system--which is your nervous system that is aroused and is there to protect you in case you're attacked and you have to run away and things like that--is pretty much heightened if you haven't had a good night's sleep. It stays functioning for a prolonged period of time, and that's why people evidence themselves as being edgy, irritable. A lot of people nowadays are sleep deprived, and what do they do? They take caffeine, and that prolongs them being edgy and frustrated. Not good."