What to look out for if you feel concerned about your child’s mental health.
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- According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, it is rare for insomnia to be an isolated medical or mental health condition. Insomnia is usually a symptom of another condition or a result of lifestyle or environmental factors, such as a work schedule or stress. There is a strong link between insomnia and mental health conditions.
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/is-insomnia-a-mental-illness
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- Overview
- Is insomnia a sign of mental illness?
- Common comorbidities of insomnia
- Common symptoms of insomnia
- Causes and risk factors of insomnia
- Treatment options for insomnia
- Bottom line
People with insomnia often have a mental health condition or vice versa.
Sleep is extremely important for your mental health. During sleep, your body is able to repair itself. Your brain sorts through information, and your nervous system gets a much-needed break.
If you live with insomnia — meaning you consistently have trouble falling or staying asleep — your body misses out on these healing processes.
Insomnia and mental illness commonly occur together. A significant lack of sleep can trigger or worsen mental health symptoms. In turn, mental health conditions can lead to insomnia.
Insomnia has a complex relationship with mental illness.
Research from 2018 suggests that 50–80% of adults with mental health conditions have difficulty falling or staying asleep in a typical year.
The link between insomnia and mental health can run both ways. A psychiatric disorder can lead to insomnia, and insomnia can worsen or trigger a mental health condition.
However, in many cases, there is no direct cause-and-effect, but rather a situation where both conditions are different symptoms of the same condition. For instance, unbalanced blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes can lead to both insomnia and anxiety.
Occasionally, short-term insomnia can be an isolated condition or the result of a certain lifestyle or work schedule (for instance, working the night shift).
Often, the particular characteristics of your insomnia and other symptoms can be helpful in determining the role of mental illness in your inability to sleep.
Below are some mental health conditions that are commonly seen with insomnia or other sleep disturbances:
•Depression: Insomnia is a core symptom of depression. In a 2018 study, more than 90% of people with major depressive disorder (MDD) reported insomnia-related sleep disturbances. People with insomnia may develop depression more often compared to those who sleep well.
•Anxiety: According to a 2020 study, up to 36% of participants with insomnia had anxiety.
•Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): A Swedish population study in 2020 found that people with OCD are nearly 7 times more likely to receive an insomnia diagnosis or be given medication for insomnia.
•Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): Disrupted sleep is a core component of PTSD. This may be related to anxiety or nightmares.
•Substance use disorder (SUD): Substance use, intoxication, and withdrawal can disturb sleeping patterns.
The hallmark symptoms of insomnia are:
•trouble falling or staying asleep
•waking up too early
•feeling exhausted or sleepy during the day
Insomnia disorder was added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5) as a stand-alone disorder. In the DSM-4, it was categorized as either a primary or secondary disorder.
According to the DSM-5, symptoms of insomnia must:
Everyone is different, so each person living with insomnia may have a different set of factors that lead to their sleeping difficulties.
Some evidence suggests insomnia may be partially genetic. However, there isn’t any single insomnia gene. Instead, there are genetic factors that make some people more likely to develop insomnia.
The following factors may trigger or worsen insomnia:
•mental health conditions
•medical conditions like obstructive sleep apnea, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, asthma, and migraine
•pain (back pain, fibromyalgia, arthritis)
Treatments for insomnia may involve:
•sleep medication
•cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
•daily exercise
•treating underlying conditions that are worsening sleep quality
Research in 2018 shows that among people with both a mental health condition and insomnia, treating the mental health condition can help improve sleep — and treating sleep disturbances can have a beneficial effect on mental health treatments, too.
Insomnia is a sleep disorder where you have trouble falling or staying asleep or wake up too early. If you have insomnia, you often feel exhausted or sleepy during the day.
Insomnia has a complex relationship with mental illness. The link between the two has many factors.
Insomnia can lead to or worsen mental health conditions, such as depression, as vice versa. Insomnia and depression may also be two different symptoms of the same condition, like diabetes or chronic pain.
Depending on what’s causing your insomnia, treatment may target your insomnia symptoms, the underlying condition, or both.
- Traci Pedersen
Jun 1, 2023 · Insomnia is a sleep disorder that has a complex relationship with mental illness. Learn about insomnia and mental health and the importance of treatment.
How does sleep relate to mental health? There's a close relationship between sleep and mental health. Living with a mental health problem can affect how well you sleep, and poor sleep can have a negative impact on your mental health.
Jan 16, 2024 · Insomnia is a common sleep disorder that can make it hard to fall asleep or stay asleep. It also can cause you to wake up too early and not be able to get back to sleep. You may still feel tired when you wake up.
Jul 5, 2022 · Symptoms. Other sleep disorders. Next steps. Challenges with falling asleep, staying asleep, or returning to sleep are symptoms listed in the DSM 5 as the criteria of a sleep-wake disorder...
May 31, 2024 · Mental health. Insomnia can mean both: struggling to get to sleep. difficulty staying asleep. It’s a common problem thought to affect around 1 in every 3 people in the UK. It’s particularly common in elderly people. Symptoms of insomnia. If you have insomnia, you might: find it hard to fall asleep. lie awake at night.
