Sleep Disruption and Deprivation - Can Cause Many Anxiety-like Symptoms

Written by: Jim Folk.
Medically reviewed by: Marilyn Folk, BScN.
Last updated: November 1, 2020

Sleep deprivation adversely affects the body in many ways, including:

Prevents the body from adequately refreshing itself
Stresses the nervous system
Impairs brain function
Increases blood pressure
Increases blood sugar
Increases moodiness
Increases cortisol production, a powerful stress hormone, to compensate for feeling tired

To name a few.

Consequently, sleep disruption and deprivation can cause many anxiety-like symptoms.

When you combine anxiety, stress, and chronic stress with sleep loss, the body can behave in many odd and symptomatic ways.

You can prevent this by getting regular good sleep (6.5 to 8 hours per night).

If your sleep is disrupted because of anxiety, stress, and hyperstimulation, broken sleep and hyperarousal can become a vicious cycle.

For more information about how to address sleep problems, visit our Sleep section (chapter 18) in the Recovery Support area.

Common Anxiety Symptoms

The combination of good self-help information and working with an experienced anxiety disorder therapist is the most effective way to address anxiety disorder and its many symptoms. Until the core causes of anxiety are addressed - the underlying factors that motivate apprehensive behavior - a struggle with anxiety disorder can return again and again. Identifying and successfully addressing anxiety's underlying factors is the best way to overcome problematic anxiety.

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