Crossword Genius

Uneasy, being deprived of sleep (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

restless

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'uneasy' is the definition.
(I know that uneasy can be written as restless)

'deprived of sleep' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'sleep' could be 'rest' (synonyms) and 'rest' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'less' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'being' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for restless that I've seen before include "Uneasy and agitated" , "Never still" , "Wakeful" , "Unsettled, fidgety" , "Unable to keep still" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish News.
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