Sleep and Mental Health Disorders

Sleep is essential to the maintenance of mental health. Sleep helps to regulate mood and process emotional information and experiences into memory. Insufficient sleep is associated with increased emotional reactivity and emotional disturbance. Research indicates that REM sleep may play an especially significant role in maintaining emotional well-being and psychological balance. Sleep problems occur substantially more frequently in people with psychiatric conditions than in the general population. Often, sleep and mental health disorders exist in bi-directional relationship to each other, with each condition influencing the other. Poor sleep can contribute to the onset and severity of mental health disorders, and mental health problems can create and exacerbate sleep issues. Treating sleep problems may deliver therapeutic help for mental health conditions, just as sleep may improve as mental health disorders are treated. Sleep problems may affect the following conditions: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) Sleep problems are associated with ADHD in both children and adults. Children with ADHD are more likely to suffer from daytime tiredness, as well as sleep-disordered breathing. In children, symptoms of sleep deprivation may appear similar to symptoms associated with ADHD. In adults, symptoms of ADHD may appear similar to symptoms of certain sleep disorders, including narcolepsy and hypersomnia. Anxiety Anxiety disorders and sleep problems are frequently present ...
Source: Psych Central - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tags: Anxiety Attention Deficit Disorder Bipolar Depression Disorders General Panic Disorder Psychology PTSD Schizophrenia Sleep Adhd Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Bipolar Disorder Emotional Disturbance emotional reactiv Source Type: news