How Lack Of Sleep Strains Relationships

Spread the love
how lack of sleep strains relationships

Great Relationship Is Great Health

How lack of sleep strains relationships explains how prolonged sleep loss can put pressure on your family, sex, work, and social lives. When you have trouble sleeping, you become overly sensitive to things that may disturb your sleep. Besides one important thing that can interrupt your sleep is your partner or spouse. The solution is not separate bedrooms, as this is not good for your marriage.

Read here how lack of sleep strains relationships. And why talking with your doctor may help give you the needed spouse sleep therapy to make your night blissful.

Lack Of Sleep Discourages Sexual Intimacy

how lack of sleep strains relationships

Sleep disorders and prolonged sleep loss discourage sex. According to experts, sleep-deprived men and women say they have problems with sex. This is because lack of sleep can lead to low energy, fatigue, and drowsiness. In such a situation, there is low interest in sex. So, when it gets to the point where the sleep-deprived person turns down intimacy at night, it just worsens an already bad situation.

Furthermore, the mixture of tiredness and increased tension caused by lack of sleep can also lead to sexual dysfunction.  Hence if you experience tension and tiredness, you are likely too anxious to relax. In the same way, tension and anxiety lead to sexual dysfunction most of the time. Since sexual dysfunction tends to increase as energy decreases.

Impact Of Sleep Apnea On Men’s Libido

Health Problems Can Disrupt Your Sleep

Sleep apnea is the inability to breathe properly during sleep. As such, men with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) often report low libidos and sexual activity. The reason may be because OSA is linked with lower testosterone levels in some men. For example, one research found that nearly half of men who suffered from severe sleep apnea also had unusually low levels of testosterone during the night.

Sleep Disorders And Mood Changes

How lack of sleep strains a relationship is often felt when you become aggressive and unable to cope with life’s ups and downs. For example, patients with sleep disorders often talk about mood changes such as increased irritability. Therefore, these mood changes often impact relations with spouses, children, and friends.

A good case is when you as a parent do not get enough sleep and worry about spending insufficient time with your children. Or not engaging adequately with them because of fatigue. Regrettably, the time of day when your mood gets worse maybe when your children return from school. Or perhaps when you have alone time with your spouse in the evening. So, as you are gradually sleep-deprived, you suffer from tiredness either late in the afternoon or evening. Also, you become more susceptible to tension, anxiety, and stress during those times.

Thus, if you are unable to fall asleep or stay asleep, long enough to be rested, you are likely to have a difficult time dealing with even minor stress. Or find it hard to relate to other people in social and work settings than those who had restful sleep. Conclusively, people with insomnia generally have a lower quality of life than people who do not have sleep problems.

5 Ways Lack of Sleep Affects Social Life

How lack of sleep strains relationships also manifests when people with insomnia are less likely to engage in social activities. According to a study conducted, people with insomnia and other sleep disorders are three times as likely as others to avoid leisure activities because of tiredness. Find below other ways lack of sleep may affect your social life:

Triggers social withdrawal

People will say they avoid evening social engagements because they are concerned that it will disrupt their sleep schedule. Hence, they begin to accommodate their sleep loss by rearranging or avoiding activities. But, this social withdrawal may partly be because people who are sleep deprived get less enjoyment out of life in general.

Decreases positive emotions

Sleep deprivation actually decreases our experience of positive emotions. It reduces their intensity.

Ushers in depression

Some of the effects of sleep loss, such as anxiety, loss of libido, and loss of interest in once enjoyable activities, if prolonged are also signs of depression. Over time, lack of sleep from sleep disorders can contribute to depression. And depression can cause or aggravate sleep disorders. Depression can also put a strain on family life and other personal relationships.

Impairs attention and focus

Sleep loss impairs attention, alertness, concentration, memory, reasoning, problem-solving, and response time. In other words, it can wreak havoc on work performance. Also when you add these symptoms to mood problems, work relationships can dive. 

Lowers productivity

People are often concerned about their lowered productivity and their boss or co-workers taking notice of it. Moreover, the effects of loss of sleep on moods, like increased irritability or frustration,  can impact work relationships.

Talk To Your Doctor

how lack of sleep strains relationships

Over time, the sleep-loss issues between spouses or partners can escalate into some pretty tough relationship problems. Therefore, spouses who are victims of insomnia are encouraged to talk to their doctors about their spouse’s sleep therapy. The reality is that when there is a doctor’s consultation, it becomes glaring and easier to actually understand how sleeplessness has become a dividing factor in your relationship. For instance, during a doctor’s consultation, you can come to terms with the continuous irritability and mood issues in your relationship. Also, there is a better understanding of why sleep has such a major impact on your spouse’s life. Particularly, when your spouse is sleeping poorly and refuses social activities at night.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/11429-common-sleep-disorders

Photo Credit: Creative Commons

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Translate »