As a privately practicing psychologist in Maryland, Uzi Ben-Ami, Ph.D., draws on over 30 years of experience. Uzi Ben-Ami, Ph.D., welcomes patients with a variety of mental health challenges, including anxiety disorders and phobias.
The mental health profession has known for some time that anxiety can cause sleep deprivation, but recent research suggests that the reverse is also true. Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley came to this conclusion after studying reports of anxiety from 18 healthy individuals.
Each study participant completed anxiety testing after staying awake or sleeping for a full night. Anxiety ratings were 30 percent higher in those who had not slept compared to those who had experienced a full night's sleep. Additionally, the levels of anxiety in sleep-deprived participants approached those normally seen in people with diagnoses of anxiety disorders.
The research team also conducted MRI scans on participants' brains. They found that those who were sleep-deprived had less activity in the prefrontal cortex--the part of the brain responsible for controlling anxiety levels.
Experts believe that these findings may help to explain why people with anxiety often experience more severe symptoms in the morning. The study team believes that this new finding can serve as an impetus for developing sleep therapy for people with anxiety as well as for those without anxiety diagnoses.
The mental health profession has known for some time that anxiety can cause sleep deprivation, but recent research suggests that the reverse is also true. Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley came to this conclusion after studying reports of anxiety from 18 healthy individuals.
Each study participant completed anxiety testing after staying awake or sleeping for a full night. Anxiety ratings were 30 percent higher in those who had not slept compared to those who had experienced a full night's sleep. Additionally, the levels of anxiety in sleep-deprived participants approached those normally seen in people with diagnoses of anxiety disorders.
The research team also conducted MRI scans on participants' brains. They found that those who were sleep-deprived had less activity in the prefrontal cortex--the part of the brain responsible for controlling anxiety levels.
Experts believe that these findings may help to explain why people with anxiety often experience more severe symptoms in the morning. The study team believes that this new finding can serve as an impetus for developing sleep therapy for people with anxiety as well as for those without anxiety diagnoses.
