Sleep deprivationpsychosis can cause hallucinationswhen you see or hear things that aren’t there.

It can also cause delusional thinking.

It’s because of severe sleep deprivation that continues for a long time.

Learn about the role of losing sleep and the subsequent development of visual hallucinations.

What Are Hallucinations?

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.

Overall, auditory hallucinations are most common.

Causes of Sleep Deprivation

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.

Chronically getting too few hours of rest per night may play a cumulative role.

But you’re free to’t always put sleep on a scale.

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.

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.

Falling asleep late and waking too early may lead to cumulative sleep loss.

Some adolescents may try “catching up” by napping or sleeping more on weekends.

But nothing can replace the restorative effects of a good night’s 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.

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.

You should prevent sleep deprivation from affecting your physical and mental health, too.

Summary

No one knows better than you do why you’re sleep deprived.

An obvious solution to both problems is getting more sleep.

But taking other proactive steps may help, too.

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.

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.

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