Exploring the Impact of Sleep Deprivation on Psychotic-like Experiences in Healthy Adults

Description

Niyanta Bhagat and Deepika Lohan (Amity Institute of Behavioural Sciences, Amity University Haryana)

Sleep deprivation disrupts normal brain functioning, particularly in the prefrontal cortex, which governs decision-making, emotional regulation, and the ability to differentiate between reality and imagination. This disruption may lead to transient psychosis-like experiences (PLEs), such as hallucinations (auditory, visual, or tactile), paranoia, delusional thinking, and altered sensory perceptions. Psychosis-like experiences are brief and mild symptoms resembling those found in clinical psychosis but do not meet the diagnostic criteria for a psychotic disorder. While prior research has established links between sleep deprivation and cognitive or emotional dysfunction, the relationship between sleep quality, social functioning, and the emergence of PLEs in undergraduate student populations remains underexplored. This study aims to investigate the associations between sleep deprivation, impaired social functioning, and the prevalence of psychosis-like experiences among 102 undergraduate students aged 18 to 35. The primary aims are to determine whether poor sleep quality correlates with increased PLE activity and to explore the underlying mechanisms contributing to these effects. Self-report instruments are employed to assess the key variables: the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) for sleep quality, the Prodromal Questionnaire-16 (PQ-16) for psychosis-like experiences, and the GAD 7 for anxiety, a factor commonly linked to PLEs.