It’s not just new parents and night shift workers who may feel sleep deprived. For many, suffering with poor sleep or insomnia can be a hidden and debilitating struggle. And a link has now been found between sleep issues and mental health.
Poor sleep can affect an individual in many ways: difficulty getting to sleep, early waking, nightmares and problems staying asleep as examples.
A new study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health used a cross-sectional of 89,205 participants from the UK Biobank. The study demonstrates that people diagnosed with mental health conditions often have worse sleep quality and also that poor sleep can impact mental health. It’s not yet clear if one causes the other and if so, which one comes first so to speak. An interesting observation of the study found that sleep deprivation increases inflammation in the body, and inflammation is connected to stress.
Check out this article from the UK Therapy Guide for more observations on the study, including some tips for practicing good ‘sleep hygiene’ as recommended by the researchers in the study.
If you would like to book an appointment with a Rainbow counsellor, please send us a message with a brief explanation of your situation and we will recommend a counsellor to meet your needs.
