By Lena Vasquez, Community Features & Culture Editor

Remember when you were a kid and you wanted to stay up just a little longer? Maybe your mom had to fight you to get you into bed.

Today, many Americans are sleep deprived. Hustle culture has become popular with people wearing their tiredness as a badge of honor. Meanwhile, our electronic devices are a perpetual source of distraction with the ping of notifications and the glow of a screen competing for our attention. The Center for Disease Control says that barely more than half of Americans feel well rested these days and 1 in 3 are chronically sleep deprived.

It is perhaps not a coincidence then that mental health is in precipitous decline. Billions of dollars have been invested in mental health services while rates of mental illness climb. What if the answer is shockingly simple? Perhaps your mom was right all along.

The science backs her up. When you don’t get enough sleep your brain’s emotional center, the amygdala starts to overheat like the engine of your car. As your emotions overheat, your prefrontal cortex, which normally acts to regulate your emotions with logic, becomes impaired. The result is fireworks. Quite literally you start acting insane without the ability to exercise control over your emotions.

When sleep deprivation becomes severe so too do the manifestations of insanity that accompany it. Brain fog, confusion, paranoia and even psychosis and hallucinations can occur in people who stay awake more than one night.

The solution is not hard. Go to bed and wake up on a consistent schedule. Silence your electronic devices when you sleep. Make your bedroom comfortable and avoid doing work in your bedroom. Your bedroom should feel like a sanctuary. For some people, soothing noises help too. White noise and nature sounds can help you sleep soundly.

In today’s fast paced consumerist society, there’s often a tool or gadget for everything. For a good night sleep, the solution is the opposite. It’s about creating an environment with peace and solitude. 

Don’t feel like you’re missing out by getting a good night’s sleep. In fact, you’re increasing your ability to enjoy your life and to handle it competently.