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Sleeping is one thing that I have found to be crucial for my moods.
In high school I would go to bed sometime around 11pm, and be out the door at 5:45am again. Weekends I'd be in bed by 1-3am, and my dad would wake me at 7am if I wasn't already awake. I didn't think this sleep deprivation did anything negative at the time. I didn't really know any different. Most of my family seemed to keep a similar schedule.
Then I went away to school. I was able to sleep in on the weekend, and get closer to 7-9 hours of sleep a night. I found myself less depressed as I woke up in the morning, better able to think and function throughout the day, and less likely to fall asleep during a lecture. In high school I tended to doze off if I wasn't moving. Midterms/finals I went back to the old high school schedule, and found myself, as eribrav described, edgy and prone to quick, irrational decision-making. Roomates hated me during these crunch times, and I started to hate myself. I was happy/manic one minute, irritable/depressed the next - started to think I was bipolar. But then I started getting regular sleep again.
I'm a different person when I get enough sleep from when I don't.
I can't speak for everyone, but I know that I benefit from more sleep than I once thought I needed.
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"Sometimes I have to remember that things are brought to me for a reason, either for my own lessons or for the benefit of others." Cynthetiq
"violence is no more or less real than non-violence." roachboy
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