• Ross F. Grumet, MD
    • Philosophy
    • Reviews
  • Service
    • Telepsychiatry
    • IME Services
    • Suboxone
    • Backup Psychiatry
    • Sleep Advocate
    • Professional Fees
  • Blog
    • Is It Your Fault?
  • New Patients
    • FAQs
  • Pay Bill
  • CURRENT PATIENTS
  • Contact Us

Psychiatry Atlanta

At Psychiatry Atlanta Dr. Ross Grumet provides a wide range of psychiatric services

1718 Peachtree Street NW Suite 481
Atlanta, GA 30309
404.685.9414

January 24, 2019 By: Dr. Ross Grumet - 1 Comment

You Can’t Get Away With It: Sleeplessness Hurts

You Can't Get Away With It: Sleeplessness Hurts by Dr. Ross Grumet of Atlanta Psychiatric Specialists“I don’t need much sleep.” “I pulled an all-nighter.” “I can always catch up.” We have the illusion that we control what happens in our brains, that we can forgo a sleeping state in favor of a waking one without penalty.

No, not true. There is a price to pay- you may decide it is worth the price, but the billions of brain cells and their trillions of connections will have their say. The “I” of my personal self, Ross, is itself constructed by these interacting neurons and doesn’t have much more say about what my brain is doing than it does about how my skin or my liver is behaving. We’re getting into tricky philosophical territory here, but my overall point is that insufficient sleep leads to unintended consequences:

  • Your brain may enter “microsleeps,” brief periods of snoozing which are well known to night drivers or tired classroom students. These can be dangerous.
  • Your brain may produce “local sleep,” in which a few neurons at a time are offline and resting- not enough to be aware of, but definitely capable of causing inefficiencies and omissions.
  • You don’t feel rested; you don’t look forward to rewards; there is a background dullness or tension to your life.
  • You may be more inclined to overuse alcohol or drugs, including caffeine or nicotine, in order to improve your emotional state. This developing feeling bad/feeling good/feeling bad cycle leads to self defeating habits.
  • Lack of sleep is usually associated with weight gain (not what you expected!) and metabolic and hormonal changes associated with various illnesses (see also my version of Pascal’s Wager).

Memory, decision making, pain tolerance, moral choices, negotiating ability, and other cognitive and emotional functions are hurt when we are deprived of sleep.

As I said above, you may decide that lack of sleep is worth the payoff, but your decision can be informed by a balanced consideration of risks and benefits.

We encourage comments on these posts. However, for a professional psychiatric inquiry please use our Contact Form. 

Comments

  1. Marilyn Roberts says

    January 26, 2019 at 1:06 am

    Ross, I wish that we could discuss this over a long dinner! I have been diagnosed with Reverse Circadian Rhythm Disorder and have been told there is no help. All treatment modalities have failed. It is horrendously frustrating.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Get Emails

New Idea Emails from Dr. Grumet

* indicates required

Search Psychiatry Atlanta

Contact Us

Contact Psychiatry Atlanta if you have any questions and to setup an appointment.

Contact Psychiatry Atlanta if you have any … [Read More...]

New Patients

New Patient Forms

Message from Dr. Ross Grumet for Potential New … [Read More...]

IME Services

Independent Medical Exam (IME) Services by Ross F. Grumet, M.D. of Atlanta Psychiatric Specialists

Independent Medical Exams - IME Services Ross F. … [Read More...]

Ross F. Grumet, MD

Dr. Ross Grumet

Ross F. Grumet, MD Credentials Diplomate in … [Read More...]

Dr. Ross’s Blog

You Can't Get Away With It: Sleeplessness Hurts by Dr. Ross Grumet of Atlanta Psychiatric Specialists

Long Haulers (COVID-19) And Gaslighting

The Single Key To Knowing If You Are Addicted

Awarded Top Psychiatry Blogs

The APS Blog by Dr. Ross Grumet is recognizeds as a Top Psychiatry Blog

Office Hours

Opening Hours
Monday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Tuesday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Wednesday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Thursday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Friday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Saturday Closed
Sunday Closed

Office Procedures

Of … [Click HERE to learn more about our Office Procedures...]

Medical Disclaimer

Me … Click HERE for Medical Disclaimer

Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy for Psychiatry Atlanta and Dr. Ross Grumet

PATIENT PRIVACY Right to Request … [Read More...]

  • Website Privacy Policy

Follow Us!

Follow Us on LinkedInFollow Us on Twitter

Search

© Copyright 2014-2021 · All Rights Reserved · Website by TecAdvocates

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkWebsite Privacy Policy