Can Sleep Deprivation or Insomnia Cause Hallucinations to Occur?

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Are Hallucinations?Causes of Sleep DeprivationSleep Losses Add UpHallucinations as a SymptomEffects in Children and TeensSleep and Mental Health ConnectionSelf-CareFrequently Asked Questions

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

What Are Hallucinations?

Causes of Sleep Deprivation

Sleep Losses Add Up

Hallucinations as a Symptom

Effects in Children and Teens

Sleep and Mental Health Connection

Self-Care

Frequently Asked Questions

Learn about the role of losing sleep and the subsequent development of visual hallucinations. Find out when they occur, how long it takes for hallucinations to develop, and how to reverse the effects.

A hallucination is the perception of something that is not actually present in the environment. It differs from an illusion, which is the misinterpretation of something that is present.

For example, seeing a cat that isn’t there is a hallucination. Mistaking a coat rack for a person is an illusion.

Hallucinations can take place in any of the five senses: auditory, gustatory (taste), olfactory (smell), tactile (touch), or visual. Overall, auditory hallucinations are most common.

Verywell / Cindy Chung

There are manyreasons that people get inadequate sleepand become sleep deprived. Some causes are obvious while others may require evaluation and testing in a sleep clinic.

Consider the most common reasons why adults fail to get the seven to eight hours of sleep they need per night:

Depending on the degree of sleep deprivation—both how little you sleep and for how long you are sleep deprived—significant consequencesaffecting your health and well-being may occur.

Total sleep deprivation, or when youget no sleepfor several nights in a row, can be a huge trigger for hallucinations. Chronically getting too few hours of rest per night may play a cumulative role.

But you can’t always put sleep on a scale. In other words, if someone needs 10 hours of sleep to function well during the day but gets only eight hours, they will gradually become sleep deprived. This occurs even though they may seem to be getting enough sleep based on the population average, which says that many adults need about eight hours of sleep per night.

The degree of sleep deprivation required to start to experience side effects often varies, depending on an individual’s sleep needs and genetic predisposition toward hallucinations.

Hallucination Due to Sleep Deprivation

Beginning to hallucinate is among the more common symptoms of sleep deprivation.

About 80% of people will hallucinate if they’ve been severely sleep deprived. “Severe” means getting only a few hours of sleep over one night to going several days without sleep.Most of these incidents involve visual hallucinations.

In contrast, people withschizophreniaoften have auditory hallucinations, hearing sounds (often voices) that are not there. These voices may even tell the affected person what to do. This phenomenon is called command hallucinations.

Effects in Children and Teenagers

Sleep deprivation can affect both children and adults. Children need more sleep, and not getting it may lead to behavioral and growth problems. They may even hallucinate.

Adolescents who are night owls withdelayed sleep phase syndromemay have difficulty meeting their sleep needs due to a delay in the onset of sleep and required wake times for school.

The 4 Stages of Sleep

The Sleep and Mental Health Connection

It can be frightening to hallucinate. But it should also make sense how sleep and mental health are so closely connected.

Sleep and mental health have a synergistic relationship, meaning the poor sleep patterns can affect your mental health as much as psychiatric conditions can impair sleep. Harvard Medical School notes that “Sleep deprivation affects your psychological state and mental health. And those with mental health problems are more likely to have insomnia or other sleep disorders.”

In a typical psychiatric practice, as many as 80% of patients deal with chronic sleep problems. This compares to between 10% and 18% of adults in the general population.

People with anxiety,depression,bipolar disorder, andattention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD) often have sleep problems, too.

Self-Care Should End Hallucinations

Addressing the underlying causes of sleep deprivation often involves more than making a concerted effort to get more sleep. Think of sleep as a first step as you:

In the end, you should do more than improve the quality of your sleep. You should prevent sleep deprivation from affecting your physical and mental health, too.

How to Improve Your Sleep Habits

Summary

A Word From Verywell

If your symptoms persist despite getting adequate rest, consult your healthcare provider. Further evaluation may be necessary to get to the bottom of the problem. Your provider may even recommend that you see a sleep specialist who treats sleep disorders.

Frequently Asked QuestionsSome studies show that perceptual changes, such as hallucinations, begin after just one or two nights without sleep.It can take several days to recover from sleep deprivation. Even one hour of sleep deprivation can put someone in a sleep deficit for up to four days.Aside from hallucinations, other symptoms of sleep deprivation include slower cognitive function, reduced attention span, memory lapses, and mood changes.

Some studies show that perceptual changes, such as hallucinations, begin after just one or two nights without sleep.

It can take several days to recover from sleep deprivation. Even one hour of sleep deprivation can put someone in a sleep deficit for up to four days.

Aside from hallucinations, other symptoms of sleep deprivation include slower cognitive function, reduced attention span, memory lapses, and mood changes.

An Overview of Sleep-Related Hallucinations

13 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Brasic JR.Hallucinations.Percept Mot Skills. 1998;86(3);851-877. doi:10.2466/pms.1998.86.3.851.American Psychiatric Association.What are sleep disorders?.Nelson ME, Lee S, Allen TD, Buxton OM, Almeida DM, Andel R.Goldilocks at work: just the right amount of job demands may be needed for your sleep health.Sleep Health. 2023;9(1):40-48. doi:10.1016/j.sleh.2022.09.002McCann D, Bull R, Winzenberg T.Sleep deprivation in parents caring for children with complex needs at home: a mixed methods systematic review.J Fam Nurs. 2015;21(1):86-118. doi:10.1177/1074840714562026Harvard Medical School.Genetics, aging and sleep: genetics of sleep.Stanford University: Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute.Why do humans hallucinate on little sleep?.Cleveland Clinic.Delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS) in children and adolescents.National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Sleep.Brain basics: Understanding sleep.Harvard Health Publishing.Sleep and mental health.Valley Sleep Center.Can sleep deprivation lead to mental illness?Waters F, Chiu V, Atkinson A, Blom JD.Severe sleep deprivation causes hallucinations and a gradual progression toward psychosis with increasing time awake.Front Psychiatry. 2018;9:303. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00303Kitamura S, Katayose Y, Nakazaki K, et al.Estimating individual optimal sleep duration and potential sleep debt.Sci Rep. 2016;6(1):35812. doi:10.1038/srep35812Sleep Foundation.Sleep deprivation.

13 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Brasic JR.Hallucinations.Percept Mot Skills. 1998;86(3);851-877. doi:10.2466/pms.1998.86.3.851.American Psychiatric Association.What are sleep disorders?.Nelson ME, Lee S, Allen TD, Buxton OM, Almeida DM, Andel R.Goldilocks at work: just the right amount of job demands may be needed for your sleep health.Sleep Health. 2023;9(1):40-48. doi:10.1016/j.sleh.2022.09.002McCann D, Bull R, Winzenberg T.Sleep deprivation in parents caring for children with complex needs at home: a mixed methods systematic review.J Fam Nurs. 2015;21(1):86-118. doi:10.1177/1074840714562026Harvard Medical School.Genetics, aging and sleep: genetics of sleep.Stanford University: Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute.Why do humans hallucinate on little sleep?.Cleveland Clinic.Delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS) in children and adolescents.National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Sleep.Brain basics: Understanding sleep.Harvard Health Publishing.Sleep and mental health.Valley Sleep Center.Can sleep deprivation lead to mental illness?Waters F, Chiu V, Atkinson A, Blom JD.Severe sleep deprivation causes hallucinations and a gradual progression toward psychosis with increasing time awake.Front Psychiatry. 2018;9:303. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00303Kitamura S, Katayose Y, Nakazaki K, et al.Estimating individual optimal sleep duration and potential sleep debt.Sci Rep. 2016;6(1):35812. doi:10.1038/srep35812Sleep Foundation.Sleep deprivation.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Brasic JR.Hallucinations.Percept Mot Skills. 1998;86(3);851-877. doi:10.2466/pms.1998.86.3.851.American Psychiatric Association.What are sleep disorders?.Nelson ME, Lee S, Allen TD, Buxton OM, Almeida DM, Andel R.Goldilocks at work: just the right amount of job demands may be needed for your sleep health.Sleep Health. 2023;9(1):40-48. doi:10.1016/j.sleh.2022.09.002McCann D, Bull R, Winzenberg T.Sleep deprivation in parents caring for children with complex needs at home: a mixed methods systematic review.J Fam Nurs. 2015;21(1):86-118. doi:10.1177/1074840714562026Harvard Medical School.Genetics, aging and sleep: genetics of sleep.Stanford University: Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute.Why do humans hallucinate on little sleep?.Cleveland Clinic.Delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS) in children and adolescents.National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Sleep.Brain basics: Understanding sleep.Harvard Health Publishing.Sleep and mental health.Valley Sleep Center.Can sleep deprivation lead to mental illness?Waters F, Chiu V, Atkinson A, Blom JD.Severe sleep deprivation causes hallucinations and a gradual progression toward psychosis with increasing time awake.Front Psychiatry. 2018;9:303. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00303Kitamura S, Katayose Y, Nakazaki K, et al.Estimating individual optimal sleep duration and potential sleep debt.Sci Rep. 2016;6(1):35812. doi:10.1038/srep35812Sleep Foundation.Sleep deprivation.

Brasic JR.Hallucinations.Percept Mot Skills. 1998;86(3);851-877. doi:10.2466/pms.1998.86.3.851.

American Psychiatric Association.What are sleep disorders?.

Nelson ME, Lee S, Allen TD, Buxton OM, Almeida DM, Andel R.Goldilocks at work: just the right amount of job demands may be needed for your sleep health.Sleep Health. 2023;9(1):40-48. doi:10.1016/j.sleh.2022.09.002

McCann D, Bull R, Winzenberg T.Sleep deprivation in parents caring for children with complex needs at home: a mixed methods systematic review.J Fam Nurs. 2015;21(1):86-118. doi:10.1177/1074840714562026

Harvard Medical School.Genetics, aging and sleep: genetics of sleep.

Stanford University: Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute.Why do humans hallucinate on little sleep?.

Cleveland Clinic.Delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS) in children and adolescents.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Sleep.Brain basics: Understanding sleep.

Harvard Health Publishing.Sleep and mental health.

Valley Sleep Center.Can sleep deprivation lead to mental illness?

Waters F, Chiu V, Atkinson A, Blom JD.Severe sleep deprivation causes hallucinations and a gradual progression toward psychosis with increasing time awake.Front Psychiatry. 2018;9:303. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00303

Kitamura S, Katayose Y, Nakazaki K, et al.Estimating individual optimal sleep duration and potential sleep debt.Sci Rep. 2016;6(1):35812. doi:10.1038/srep35812

Sleep Foundation.Sleep deprivation.

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