Sleep problems can trigger mental health conditions
Sleep problems, including insomnia, have long been thought to be a side effect of mental health problems, but new research has shown that they could directly cause poor mental health, reports the Telegraph.
A condition called sleep apnea, which causes breathing difficulties making it harder to sleep, could double the chance of experiencing depression, studies have shown, whilst other research shows a lack of sleep is linked to attention deficit disorders. Between a quarter and a half of children who suffer from ADHD have trouble sleeping, where as amongst those who do not suffer from it, the figure is only 7%.
Robert Stickgold, a sleep researcher at Harvard University said: “It was just so easy to say about a patient, well, he’s depressed or schizophrenic, of course he’s not sleeping well – and never to ask whether there could be a causal relationship the other way.”
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