Synopsis

● Sleep disorders are often associated with depression and other mental disorders.

● Most people are aware that it’s healthy to get a good night’s sleep.

● Yet, try as you might, you may have trouble accomplishing that goal.

● Sometimes, the problem is simply the noisy, busy world around you.

● Other times, it may be something within you, such as your physical or mental health, that keeps you from sleeping well.

● Whatever the cause, without the right duration and quality of sleep, your mental health suffers.

SLEEP DISORDERS CAN AFFECT YOUTHS DRASTICALLY

Depression And Sleep

●These two mental health problems often go together.

● Many researchers have studied the connection between poor sleep and depression.

● In one study, 21% of patients with sleep apnea, had symptoms of major depression.

● In another study, 3.5% of people with chronic sleep problems had moderate to severe depression.

● But even more startling, a full half of those with inadequate sleep hygiene, insomnia, and restless leg syndrome suffered from some form of depression.

● Researchers still have a long way to go to study every aspect of the connection between poor sleep and depression.

● However, one thing is clear. There does seem to be a connection.

● So, it stands to reason that improving your sleep might help you avoid depression or lessen its symptoms.

● And at the same time, dealing with your depression may improve your sleep.

● Sleep problems like insomnia and sleeping too much as signs of depression.

● If your doctor or therapist is determining whether you have depression, they’ll likely ask about and consider the quality and duration of your sleep.

● In a scholarly article on sleep and depression, David Nutt, M.D., and his associates reported that 75% of depressed people have insomnia symptoms, while 40% of depressed young adults have hypersomnia symptoms.

● Sleep might be more than a symptom, though.

● It may be a factor in the cause of depression.

● A study featured a series of surveys taken by 9,683 young women. Those who reported problems with their sleep in the initial surveys had a significantly increased risk of developing depression in later surveys.

● So, which comes first? Sleep problems or depression?

● The research to date is mixed on this issue, but it appears that sleep problems might be both a risk factor and a result of depression.

Sleep Mechanism

●If you’re sleeping well, you go through two types of sleep:

1● Quiet sleep

2● Rapid eye movement sleep.

● During the quiet sleep phase, you go through four stages of sleep, beginning with light sleep and progressing to deeper and deeper sleep.

● When you’re in the deepest phase of sleep, your body repairs itself, and your immune system gets a boost.

● During REM sleep, on the other hand, your breathing, heart rate, body temperature, and blood pressure increase to waking levels.

● This part of sleep is the time when you dream.

● Getting enough REM sleep improves your learning and memory, and it contributes to good mental health in many ways.

Mental Health Implications

●Now, consider how disrupted sleep can cause problems with your mental health.

●If you don’t get enough sleep in the quiet phases, your body can’t repair itself.

● You become more susceptible to infections.

● Both problems make sleep even harder.

● Poor sleep in this phase can increase negative thinking that often leads to depression.

● You don’t feel well, so it’s hard to be positive.

● Missing out on REM sleep can also have severe consequences.

● Your thinking and memory deteriorate, and your emotional health suffers.

● Sleep disruptions have a profound impact on the way the neurotransmitters in your brain function.

● Your stress hormones increase as you become more and more sleep-deprived.

● Your thinking becomes impaired, and you begin to have trouble regulating your emotions.

Thank you.

Dr. Chudi Chukwudi Ufondu

References

~ WebMD

~ WHO