Most people are aware that not getting enough sleep can have a negative impact on their moods the next day. It makes sense that not getting sufficient sleep on a regular basis may cause longer-term problems with your emotional and mental health. Recently, a study that was published in the journal Lancet Psychiatry revealed that there is a link between chronic sleep problems and the development of a variety of psychological disorders, including anxiety and depression.
Study of mood and sleep deprivation
Researchers were interested in testing a program called Sleepio that allows users to track their sleeping habits so that they can make adjustments to get consistently good sleep. The participants included 3,700 college students who used the program. The participants completed questionnaires over a 10-week period about their sleep habits and their self-reported symptoms of anxiety or depression.
The students were assigned to either the control group or to the treatment group. At the end of the 10-week period, the students who were assigned to the treatment group reported fewer symptoms of depression, anxiety, hallucinations, insomnia, and paranoia than the students who were assigned to the control group.
What the results mean
The researchers believe that tracking your sleeping habits and making sure to get at least eight hours of sleep every night might help you to manage symptoms of any existing psychological conditions that you might have. Doing so might also help to prevent you from developing some types of psychological problems.
Getting enough sleep consistently has been emphasized by mental health professionals as a way to help to manage the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. While the studies show a correlation between poor sleep and mental health disorders, sleep disturbances may also be caused by the psychological disorders themselves. For example, people who suffer from insomnia are 17 times likelier to suffer from anxiety and 10 times likelier to suffer from depression.
Whether getting too little sleep causes psychological conditions or if psychological conditions cause sleep disturbances, getting a minimum of eight hours of sleep every night may be of benefit to you. If you feel well-rested, you might start your day in a better frame of mind, and symptoms of any mental condition that you have might be more manageable throughout the day. To learn more, contact us today to schedule a consultation.again.
