Can Sleep Deprivation Cause Unwanted Thoughts?

Unwanted thoughts can pop up for anybody every once in a while. For most, these thoughts disappear quickly. However, if you’ve noticed these thoughts becoming repetitive, uncontrollable, and distressing, you could have other issues on your hands. A factor that could be contributing to intrusive thoughts is sleep deprivation, often caused by sleep apnea. Continue reading to learn more about unwanted thoughts and how sleep apnea treatment may help to reduce them.

How Are Unwanted Thoughts and Sleep Deprivation Related?

Unwanted thoughts happen from time to time for pretty much everybody. However, the ability to suppress unwanted thoughts can vary significantly between people. There are many different factors that can play a role, and we are learning more about them as the years pass. In a sleep study published by Clinical Psychological Science, it appears that sleep loss has a considerable impact on the ability to keep away unwanted thoughts.

In the study, a group of 60 healthy individuals were separated into two groups. One group was assigned as a sleep group and the other as a sleep deprivation group. After a night, the participants were shown photos of faces and asked to try to suppress the associations that the faces provoked. Those who had a sufficient amount of sleep were more easily able to suppress unwelcome thoughts and reported that it became easier over time. On the other hand, those who were sleep-deprived reported a 50% increase in unwanted thoughts.

How Can Treating Sleep Apnea Improve Your Sleep?

Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder that causes one to stop breathing multiple times throughout the night. This can lead to numerous serious complications, including excessive daytime sleepiness, insomnia, nightmares, sleep deprivation, loud snoring, and mood changes. Sleep apnea treatments work by preventing these ceases in breathing from occurring throughout the night, allowing them to achieve uninterrupted, quality sleep.

How Is Sleep Apnea Treated?

There are multiple different treatment methods available for addressing sleep apnea. For mild sleep apnea, lifestyle changes, like losing excess weight and getting plenty of exercise, could be enough to reduce symptoms. For those with severe sleep apnea, a CPAP machine may be necessary. For this treatment, the patient must wear a mask that covers their nose and mouth as they sleep. Air is then pushed through the airway to keep it open while the wearer sleeps. The problem is that many people find CPAP machines uncomfortable, loud, and inconvenient, so they don’t wear them as often as they should.

Oral appliance therapy is an alternative sleep apnea treatment. It involves the patient wearing a custom appliance in their mouth as they sleep. This oral appliance shifts the jaw forward, making the airway less likely to collapse. This option is comfortable and convenient, allowing for more quality sleep.

Unwanted thoughts can have a significant impact on your mood and morale. If you have noticed more unwanted thoughts, you may want to consider being tested for sleep apnea. By receiving treatment, you can get the quality sleep you need to thrive during the day!

About the Author

Dr. Robert Dernick is an experienced dentist who has been working in the dental field for more than four decades! He earned his dental doctorate from the University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston. He is committed to providing safe, effective, non-invasive sleep apnea therapy in The Woodlands using custom-made oral appliances. To learn more about sleep apnea treatment or to schedule an appointment, visit his website or call (281) 612-6316.