Chronic sleep deprivation can ruin love

Lack of sleep negatively affects relationships and often leads to marriage problems
When people live in a relationship for a longer period of time, interpersonal relationships can eventually arise between the partners. These difficulties can continue to grow until the relationship breaks down and those affected finally think about a divorce. But before you go to a lawyer for marital problems, you should check that you are getting enough sleep. Researchers have now found that lack of sleep has a negative impact on human relationships.

Researchers at Ohio State University found in their study that strong relationship problems are in some cases due to lack of sleep. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "Psychoneuroendocrinology".

The lack of sleep can not only lead to health problems. Physicians found in an investigation that unmarried spouses have more often problems in their relationship. (Image: Dan Race / fotolia.com)

Effects of lack of sleep on the human body
So far, researchers have known that prolonged sleep deprivation is associated with increased risks of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and premature death. However, a lack of sleep can also cause other difficulties, such as problems in the relationship. Many people only sleep about six hours each night, but seven to nine hours a night is recommended, say the experts.

If both spouses receive too little sleep, this often leads to strife
For their study, the scientists studied a total of 43 pairs. The physicians were able to determine that if both spouses slept less than seven hours a night, they argued more intense. However, when one of the two spouses got sufficient sleep, the problems in the relationship could be clarified rather constructively and often ended with a mediating conversation.

Rise of certain markers can promote inflammation
The couples were invited to a lab where they documented the known problems of their relationship (for example, money, in-laws or communication with the partner). The scientists also measured the levels of markers such as protein IL-6 and TNF-alpha. An increase in these markers can trigger inflammation in the body and thus promote the onset of chronic diseases such as diabetes. Earlier studies had shown that men were more likely to argue with their partners if they slept poorly during the night. Spouses who slept less than seven hours for a two-week period argued harder and more frequently in their marriage.

Sleep deprivation leads to difficulty concentrating and impatience
The current study shows the effects of too short sleep and its effects on the development of inflammation, says author Dr. Stephanie J. Wilson. Sleep deprivation is known to lead to difficulty concentrating and impatience, which makes it difficult for us to make the right decisions or to be sensitive to the problems of our partners. Also, the sense of humor, which is needed in every respect, suffers according to the expert in sleep deprivation.

Lack of sleep makes it difficult to solve problems
Adequate sleep certainly can not solve all problems of marital coexistence, but it can contribute to the improvement of many relationships, the doctors say. The study only looked at heterosexual couples, but the results are likely to apply to a wider mass or other forms of interpersonal relationships. Sleep affects the parts of the human brain that are involved in solving problems, and sleep abilities such as active listening and a good mood are explained by the scientists. It is no coincidence that the relationship satisfaction often suffers in the first year after the birth of a baby, because during this time usually a significant lack of sleep occurs. (As)