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- A new study finds a surprising association between people who have difficulty sleeping and people who have mental health problems.
- The study authors focused primarily on autism, ADHD and bipolar disorder, but believe their findings may apply to other mental health issues as well also.
- Not getting enough sleep has previously been linked to a variety of health problems, including mental health disorders.
Worldwide, only 1 in 10 people say they “sleep very well,” according to Philips Global Sleep Survey 2019. The majority of adults in that survey, about 62%, reported having slept “some or not at all well.”
These sleeping problems are associated with various mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and bipolar disorder.
Of 300 million people worldwide who have depression, research suggests that 75% also have insomnia.
A new study from researchers at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) explores the connection between sleep difficulties and a variety of mental health disorders.
Amal AlachkarPh.D., the study’s lead author, said in a Press release“The telltale sign of circadian rhythm disruption, a problem with sleep, was present in every disorder.”
“While our focus focused on well-known conditions such as autism, ADHD, and bipolar disorder, we argue that the CRD psychopathology factor hypothesis can be generalized to other mental health problems, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, food addiction. and Parkinson’s disease,” Dr. Alachkar continued.
The results were recently published in translational psychiatry.
For the study, researchers examined the link between CRD and a number of different mental disorders and mental health conditions.
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): The National Autism Society describes autism as “a lifelong developmental disability that affects the way people communicate and interact with the world.” (Autism is not universally considered a mental disorder.)
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): ADHD is a condition in which a person, often a child, finds it difficult to concentrate, exhibits inappropriate physical movements, and acts impulsively without thinking of the consequences.
- Bipolar disorder (BPD): People with bipolar disorders experience extreme mood swings that last for days or weeks, marked by periods of abnormal joy or irritability alternating with periods of depressive sadness.
- Tourette syndrome: Tourette syndrome is a neurological disorder in which a person produces “tics”—sudden, rapid, repetitive, and unwanted movements or vocal sounds.
- Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder: Schizophrenia alters a person’s thinking, emotional state, and behavior to the point that it may seem to others that they have lost touch with reality.
- Major depressive disorder (MDD): MDD refers to a state in which a person experiences prolonged episodes of depression most of the time over a period of weeks, which interferes with the ability to function.
- anxiety disorder: Anxiety disorder causes a person to live in a persistent state of anxiety or dread.
- Alzheimer’s disease (AD): With the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, a person’s memory and thinking become severely degraded over a period of time.
“An interesting topic that we explore is the interaction of circadian rhythms and mental disorders with sex,” says the lead author. pierre baldiPh.D., study author and distinguished professor of computer science at UCI, said in a Press release. “For example, Tourette syndrome It is present mainly in men and Alzheimer disease it is more common in women by about two-thirds to one-third.”
The body’s 24-hour internal (or circadian) clock regulates important daily routines, such as sleeping and waking, body temperature, eating, digestion, and hormonal activity.
The researchers reviewed the existing literature on circadian rhythm disruption (CRD) or sleep disruption and noted that CRD early in life can affect neurodevelopment and promote age-related mental health disorders later in life. .
according to a Press release, the researchers hypothesized that “CRD is a psychopathology factor shared by a wide range of mental illnesses.” The researchers believe that studying the molecular basis of CRD could unlock better therapies and treatments for various mental disorders.
jonathan cedernaesPh.D., a sleep specialist at Uppsala Universitet who was not involved in the study, said Today’s medical news:
“This review highlights the fact that sleep disturbances and circadian disruption are very common in mental disorders. Based on animal data, it can also be speculated that circadian rhythm disruption during pregnancy may affect offspring outcomes, including for mental health or risk of psychiatric illness.”
Stress or mental health issues can affect a person’s sleep-wake cycle, as can working nights, changing time zones, or just being a “night owl.”
“It is important to note that there [an] inter-individual variation in our sleep and wake patterns, so they don’t all look the same,” Dr. Cedernaes said. “This variation is linked in part to biological preference, but also in part to work or social constraints.”
Alice RothPh.D., of the Cleveland Clinic Sleep Disorders Center, who was not involved in the study, said MNT:
“It is interesting to examine the link between circadian rhythm disorders and mental health, particularly in people with delayed circadian rhythm disorder, i.e. extreme night owls.”
“These are usually teenagers and young adults. With a delayed rhythm, your preferred sleep schedule (i.e. early morning bedtime, late morning bedtime) [or] time to get up early in the afternoon) is inconsistent with what is socially acceptable”.
Dr. Roth suggests that mental health problems may be related to the stigmatization these people experience because of their schedules.
“In addition to biological influences, I believe stigma plays a role in people with a delayed rhythm developing adverse psychological outcomes related to their preferred sleep schedule.”
– Alicia Roth, Ph.D.
An obvious question that remains unanswered in the study is whether CRD causes mental health problems or whether mental health problems lead to CRD, or whether both are independently linked to similar root causes.
The authors suggest that future research could answer this question through an investigation of CRD at the molecular level. They propose exploring gene expression and metabolomics technologies in mice as a starting point.
“This will be a high-throughput process, with researchers acquiring samples from healthy and diseased subjects every few hours throughout the circadian cycle,” said Professor Baldi. said.
“This approach can be applied with limitations in humans, as only serum samples can really be used, but it could be applied on a large scale in animal models, particularly mice, by sampling tissue from different areas of the brain and different organs. in addition to whey. ,” he continued.
If a causal connection between CRD and mental health is supported by additional research, a person may one day avoid mental health problems by staying in sync with their own circadian rhythm.
“You can keep a diary of your sleep and wake schedule. This can clarify if the schedule is too erratic and possibly help improve it,” Dr. Cedernaes suggested.
According to Dr. Roth, if people are left alone with no responsibilities (ie, no school, no kids, no job, or any schedule), how well do they sleep and what time do they fall asleep naturally, and do they wake up?
“It’s important to try to capture what a person’s body wants to do when constraints and schedules are removed,” said Dr. Roth.
“A person can [also] have a delayed rhythm, but their sleep schedule works for them because they have [in]flexible commitments in school, work or life,” he added. “Often, they just need validation that their ‘unusual’ sleep is okay, as long as they’re getting enough sleep and functioning as they’d like.”
According to Dr. Cedernaes, “ideally, for example, you should wake up and go to bed at the same time every day, and also eat at the same time every day.”
“We also encourage basic good sleep habits,” said Dr. Roth. “The most important thing is: don’t try to force yourself to sleep, just go to bed when you’re sleepy and don’t stay in bed in the morning and fall asleep.”
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