Depression and Anxiety

Depression and Anxiety have a strong association with sleep disorders such as insomnia.

 

Sleep issues can influence the function of the neurotransmitter serotonin, contributing to the development of depression. Depression disrupts our sleep architecture decreasing slow wave sleep and disrupting our emotional restorative sleep, REM.

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An excess of worry and fear lead to an increased time to fall asleep and disrupt sleep throughout the night, leading to a higher sleep reactivity, i.e. sleep problems, when we face stressful life events! We can all experience acute insomnia (1 night to a few weeks) but insomnia becomes chronic when sleep problems are experienced for at least three nights over a period longer than 3 months.

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The relationship between insomnia and mental health is therefore bidirectional, meaning one can worsen the other and vice versa. We can break this cycle through CBT-I by resolving the insomnia and thus improving our mental health.

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There is also a bidirectional relationship between depression and Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA).