Sleep Disorders May Be Missed in Patients With Psychosis

Sleep disorders appear to be common in patients with psychosis, but few appear to be receiving sleep assessments or treatment for such disorders, suggests areport inSchizophrenia Bulletin.“Taking sleep disorders in psychosis seriously may have important benefits,” Sarah Reeve, D.Phil., of the University of Oxford and colleagues wrote. “Recent manipulation studies have demonstrated that simulating insomnia increases psychotic experiences, and, conversely, treating insomnia reduc es psychotic experiences. … [B]y improving sleep it may be possible to improve psychosis, representing an exciting new treatment target.”For the study, Reeve and colleagues recruited patients aged 18 to 30 who had received a diagnosis of nonaffective psychotic disorder and outpatient clinical services. The researchers used the Diagnostic Interview for Sleep Patterns and Disorders (DISP) and information obtained from sleep diaries and wrist-based activity monitoring devices to assess the presence of sleep disorders in these patients. If the patient met criteria for diagnosis or positive screen for a sleep disorder, they were then asked whether they had ever discussed the issue with a medical professional and whether they received treatment for the disorder.Of the 60 patients included in the study, 48 (80%) received a positive screen or diagnosis for at least one sleep disorder. The most common sleep diagnoses were insomnia (n=30, 50%) and nightmare disorder (n=29, 48.3%), but as the authors no...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: anxiety depression hallucinations insomnia nightmare disorder paranoia psychosis Sarah Reeve Schizophrenia Bulletin sleep disorders Source Type: research