When was the last time you bragged about pulling an all-nighter instead of relaxing into one of nature’s most-fascinating rituals called sleep? The consequences of not sleeping are damaging for psychologists who work in essential front-line roles. The long hours, emotional labour, and constant on-call availability wreak havoc on the physical and mental health of psychologists globally. We often overextend and pay an irreconcilable price. The consequences of “sleep debt” deserve our utmost attention. We hope that the remarks here may cause us to reflect on the various consequences of not sleeping sufficiently or at the right time according to nature’s intentions. It begins with understanding the functions and the life-impacting importance of sleep.
Biologically, sleep operates like a complex mechanism that balances wakefulness and allows both the body and the brain to rest, repair, and rejuvenate. Psychologically, sleep is an escape or a gateway to what some call the unconscious “mind kingdom” – a realm where thoughts and emotions take different forms and let go of ego. Philosophically, sleep is a mystical force, offering humans and nonhumans a sort of collision boundary – a communal space where conscious and unconscious states of mind flow freely while exchanging pleasantries. Culturally, sleep governs the rhythms of life; offering some people the sacred and temporal escapes to mingle with divine beings and ancestors.
Taking care of oneself, including by getting enough sleep, is not a weakness; instead, it often leads to eternal wisdom. Completing the cycle of rest offers sacred space for reflexivity. There, wisdom can emerge through dreams and subconscious thoughts and also can provide vitality for the body to process unresolved issues that are generated during the waking states.
Research has shown that sleep plays a crucial role in human development, both before and after physical birth. Across cultures, starting from the third trimester, human babies engage in active REM (rapid eye movement) sleep that lasts 16–20 hours daily. REM sleep helps to increase brain activity, vivid dreams, and the physiological changes that delight parents-to-be while they watch their baby’s movements through ultrasonography. This sleep pattern is expected to continue post-birth because each stage is essential for the development of the brain and the nervous system, as well as for physical growth and maturation.
Human communities often try to outsmart nature by engaging in poor sleep hygiene, usually intending to catch up on sleep debt. Unfortunately, sleep is not just about feeling refreshed; not getting enough sleep is dangerous physically, mentally, and emotionally. Getting enough sleep is essential for warding off serious diseases, including chronic inflammation; imbalances in cardiovascular, neurological, and hormonal systems; kidney disease, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Understanding how sleep supports the body and the brain is critical.
This is true especially in high-stakes professions like psychology. Psychologists in this emotionally-taxing field often face unique pressures, from societal expectations to individual ideas of resilience and endurance. Pushing ourselves too far with indifferent, dark comments like “Grinding through exhaustion,” “Why sleep when you can party,” or “Sleep when you are dead” increasingly contribute to psychology’s sociocultural conversations.
Directing a man-up mindset toward emerging clinicians basically endorses sleep deprivation. This can lead to dismissing self-care as being secondary to professional success. Sacrificing sleep for work is not only unsustainable; it is equally counterproductive. Sleep deprivation does not build character but rather breeds cerebral apoptosis (cell suicide). By now we should know that consistent sleep deprivation increases our risks of burnout, emotional dysregulation, and cognitive impairment. Glorifying burnout and trivialising sleep debt sends the wrong messages.
As psychologists in training or in professional practice, we are tasked with guiding others through life’s challenges while trying to balance our own overall health and sanity. Our ability to make sound decisions and empathise with others hinges on having optimal mental health. While we do so, the risks from insufficient sleep can diminish our ability to provide quality care instead of harm. The field’s reluctance to critically examine the sleep psychology of psychologists is making this issue even more pressing. Psychology professionals who neglect to practice the self-care of sufficient sleep undermine the field’s integrity and credibility. This kind of masked hypocrisy reveals a fake commitment to advancing foundational psychological understandings.
Opposite that, challenging this dangerous endorsement means allowing Psychology professionals to embrace our vulnerability and redefine the roots of our resilience. This involves equal consideration of our views on work, leisure, and productivity.
The evidence is clear. Disregarding the importance of sleep, trying to be superhuman, and skimping on sleep is like trying to drive a car with a sputtering engine and hoping to collect on our achievements when we are dead. Sleepless nights secretly erode safety for psychologists and our clients. On the safe side, prioritising sleep enhances personal well-being. It also elevates the quality of learning, supervising, and teaching alongside acceptance of professional accomplishments. The safe habit of sufficient sleep reinforces the principles that uphold this profession’s reputation and impact to enhance lives. Instead of sacrificing our sleep to work late into the night, we should embrace the restorative benefits of sleep as being the foundation for acquiring the career rewards that lead to satisfaction in life.
Christopher Schroeder is a clinical neuropsychology graduate student with a long-standing interest in helping people in need and telling their stories.
Moshood Olanrewaju, PhD is a clinical psychology assistant professor at Adler University.
