To sleep, perchance to dream

Before you chance breezing through the pages from that gargantuan Chem textbook at 5 a.m., bleary-eyed and blistering for shut-eye, look around. Is there a pink unicorn preening itself at the foot of your bed? If so, you might be suffering from a psychological disorder triggered by (what else?) sleep deprivation.

Today, the Scientific American Journal says that UC Berkley and Harvard University med schools just uncovered a link between lack of sleep and overemotional behavior, a trend which could easily lead to psychiatric problems like paranoia, ADHD and post-traumatic stress disorder if left unnoticed.

Science researchers stuffed 14 sleep-impaired test subjects into a room, and each handed photographs of an increasingly disturbing nature. Harmless images of empty wicker baskets evolved into more sinister snapshots of tarantulas crawling on human shoulders and burn victims. Meanwhile, every subject's amygdala, or part of the midbrain responsible for interpreting emotion, was monitored to detect differences in awareness while exposed to awkward stimuli.

Long story short, the sleep-deprived amygdala secretes more adrenaline to jump-start brain activity, inducing a sort of heightened arousal that causes everything from elation to outrage in seconds flat. Adds a San Fransisco Chronicle article, that's because the medial prefrontal cortex, which controls logical reasoning, grinds nearly to a halt, making it harder for the brain to distinguish fact from fiction.

The brain goes haywire, the SA article further explains:

"Medial prefrontal cortex is the policeman of the emotional brain," [Berkeley psychologist Matthew] Walker says. "It makes us more rational. That top-down, inhibitory connection is severed in the condition of sleep deprivation. … The amygdala seems to be able to run amok." People in this state seem to experience a pendulum of emotions, going from upset and annoyed to giddy in moments, he says.

So, still itching to crack open that Chem textbook? Better wait 'til morning. Unsurprisingly, sleep deprivation is also associated with obesity, daily stress, depression and even heart attacks, says the Center for Disease Control. Yes, losing those 40 winks contributes to slower metabolic rates, increased irritability throughout the day and higher blood pressure - all improving one's chances of cardiovascular disease, according to a Reuters article.

This notoriously affects college students the most, considering they require at least nine hours of sleep average (as opposed to seven for adults).

Think of it this way: Given the dozen or so illnesses associated with sleep deprivation, hallucinating a pink unicorn should be the least of your worries. You're likelier to irritably snipe at friends and peers the next day and give yourself a coronary. In short, lay off the all-nighters, folks.

Images courtesy Reuters, Scientific American