Winter is here, and whether or not you enjoy the darker evenings, colder weather and premature Christmas decorations in shops, most will rejoice at the extra hour in bed that marks the change from British Summer Time to Greenwich Mean Time.<\/p>\n
Extolling the virtues of sleep is not a modern phenomenon. Over 400 years ago, Thomas Dekker dedicated a chapter of his 1609 work, The Guls Horne-booke<\/a><\/em>, to \u2018The praise of sleep and of going naked\u2019. Dekker\u2019s musings on nakedness are another matter, however, he aptly described sleep as \u2018that golden chain that ties health and our bodies together<\/em>\u2019 noting that \u2018too little tumbles us into a Church-yard, and to use it but indifferently, throws us into Bedlam<\/em>\u2019.<\/p>\n Much scientific research<\/a> has since shown that sleep is crucial for physical and mental well being, affecting multiple processes in our bodies from memory to metabolism. My research focuses on how sleep affects mental health.<\/p>\n In the 19th century, Emil Kraepelin<\/a>, considered the grandfather of modern psychiatry, noted that sleep disturbances were common in patients with psychiatric disorders and recommended treatments that promoted sleep<\/a>.<\/p>\n Today, the diagnostic systems used in research and clinical practice mirror Kraepelin\u2019s observations. For example, the fifth version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders<\/a> includes sleep disturbance as a symptom of bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders.<\/p>\n However, the question of whether poor sleep \u2018throws us into Bedlam\u2019 (i.e. causes mental ill health) has received relatively little attention until more recently.<\/p>\n There has been a growing interest in whether sleep problems can be a cause as well as a symptom of mental illness. For example, epidemiological studies suggest that people with insomnia are at a heightened risk of depression<\/a>, and periods of sleep deprivation have been associated with the onset of manic episodes in people with bipolar disorder (Wehr, 1989<\/a>; Plante and Winkelman, 2008<\/a>). These associations have been supported by evidence from experimental studies. For example, Gessa and colleagues <\/a>reported that rats displayed manic-like behaviours following sleep deprivation and other studies have found sleep deprivation in humans to lead to deficits in emotion processing<\/a> and psychosis-like symptoms<\/a>.<\/p>\n Understanding more about how sleep problems influence the course of psychiatric disorders could greatly facilitate efforts to treat mental ill-health. For example, interventions that aim to improve sleep have been associated with improving symptoms of depression<\/a>, reducing the risk of relapse in bipolar disorder<\/a>, and reducing paranoia and hallucinatory experiences<\/a>.<\/p>\n In spite of considerable progress in this area of research, there is still much more we need to investigate about the relationship between sleep and mental health.<\/p>\n First, psychiatric illnesses are complex and caused by a variety of genetic and environmental factors, therefore poor sleep may not be a risk factor for everyone. For example, in a study of over 3000 people with bipolar disorder, we found that 20% of participants reported that sleep loss had triggered episodes of high mood<\/a>, with women more likely to report this than men.<\/p>\n Second, our sleep patterns are influenced by numerous factors which further complicate attempts to understand the relationship between poor sleep and mental health. One influence, recently highlighted in the Nobel prize<\/a> awards, is our circadian rhythms (24-hour rhythms in our physiology and behaviour). These rhythms influence the sleep-wake cycle and are affected by factors such as light exposure, behaviour and genetic variation<\/a>.<\/p>\n At the National Centre for Mental Health<\/a> and MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics<\/a>, we are exploring the relationship between sleep and mental health using a variety of methods. For example, we are using genetic data from a study of over 6,000 people with bipolar disorder<\/a> to investigate whether genetic risk for sleep problems is associated with different features of bipolar disorder. We are also exploring the long-term relationships between sleep and mood<\/a> using activity monitors and daily diaries.<\/p>\n The relationship between sleep and mental health is complex, therefore progress in this area requires researchers to consider the influence of behaviour, biology and environment. Such complexities make unravelling the links in the \u2018golden chain\u2019 a challenging but exciting area of research that could ultimately aid the understanding and treatment of psychiatric disorders. If Dekker were alive, he might be pleased to hear that his writings on sleep (if not nakedness) are still relevant today.<\/p>\n Find out more about how <\/em>you can take part in our sleep research<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n We also run <\/em>workshops<\/em><\/a> on the science of sleep which are advertised through our <\/em>Facebook page<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Winter is here, and whether or not you enjoy the darker evenings, colder weather and premature Christmas decorations in shops, most will rejoice at the extra hour in bed that […]","protected":false},"author":1467,"featured_media":1414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[10,9,63],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adult-mental-health","category-child-and-adolescent-mental-health","category-sleep"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7swiU-mI","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":634,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/oxford-sleep-and-circadian-neuroscience-summer-school\/","url_meta":{"origin":1408,"position":0},"title":"Oxford Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Summer School","author":"Hayley Moulding","date":"15 August 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The inherent association between sleep and mental health is one that has been dissed and dismissed in the past. Comments, anecdotes, alongside investigation and research has eluded to the role that sleep may play in mental health, and vice versa how mental health can play a role in sleep. 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It is now an integral part of many people\u2019s lives, especially amongst those aged 16-30 years. 25-year-old Daisy Ridley, who shot to fame as Rey in the latest Star Wars films, quit Instagram earlier this year.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Adult mental health"","block_context":{"text":"Adult mental health","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/category\/adult-mental-health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/502\/2017\/12\/rawpixel-com-378011-copy-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/502\/2017\/12\/rawpixel-com-378011-copy-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/502\/2017\/12\/rawpixel-com-378011-copy-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/502\/2017\/12\/rawpixel-com-378011-copy-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/502\/2017\/12\/rawpixel-com-378011-copy-2.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/502\/2017\/12\/rawpixel-com-378011-copy-2.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":613,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/dreams-workshop\/","url_meta":{"origin":1408,"position":2},"title":"Dreams Workshop","author":"Hayley Moulding","date":"11 August 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"March 2016 saw me being fortunate enough to be crowned the winner of the Gold Zone on the online, science engagement project I\u2019m a Scientist Get Me out of Here! This programme is a phenomenal way to engage in science discussion, chat and whimsical wonderings with primary school students from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Child and adolescent mental health"","block_context":{"text":"Child and adolescent mental health","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/category\/child-and-adolescent-mental-health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/502\/2016\/08\/Dreamcatchers.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/502\/2016\/08\/Dreamcatchers.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/502\/2016\/08\/Dreamcatchers.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1808,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/do-experiences-of-social-isolation-impact-the-mental-health-of-young-people\/","url_meta":{"origin":1408,"position":3},"title":"Do experiences of social isolation impact the mental health of young people?","author":"Alison Tobin","date":"9 February 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"How does being isolated from other young people relate to mental health problems? In this blog, Dr Katherine Thompson, a postdoctoral research associate researching statistical models to predict depression at Purdue University in the United States, discusses her PhD research on this area. This research was featured as part of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Child and adolescent mental health"","block_context":{"text":"Child and adolescent mental health","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/category\/child-and-adolescent-mental-health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sad and contemplative young woman by a window.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/502\/2024\/02\/GettyImages-888960804.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/502\/2024\/02\/GettyImages-888960804.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/502\/2024\/02\/GettyImages-888960804.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/502\/2024\/02\/GettyImages-888960804.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/502\/2024\/02\/GettyImages-888960804.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/502\/2024\/02\/GettyImages-888960804.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1375,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/interview-with-a-veteran-part-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":1408,"position":4},"title":"Interview with a Veteran Part 2","author":"Kali Barawi","date":"11 November 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Military veteran John Skipper has become a passionate public spokesperson and champion of PTSD research after completing the 3MDR trial with my team at Cardiff University. 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Occasionally, these difficulties can become persistent and interfere with home life, school work and an ability to make friends. It\u2019s increasingly understood that these sorts of difficulties can develop into mental\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Adult mental health"","block_context":{"text":"Adult mental health","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/category\/adult-mental-health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/502\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-859413400.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/502\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-859413400.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/502\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-859413400.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/502\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-859413400.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/502\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-859413400.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/502\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-859413400.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"meta_box":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/502\/2017\/12\/krista-mangulsone-53114.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1467"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1408"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1408\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1413,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1408\/revisions\/1413"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Sleep disturbance as a symptom of mental illness<\/h2>\n
Does sleep loss \u2018throw us into Bedlam\u2019?<\/h2>\n
Implications for clinical practice<\/h2>\n
Complexities<\/h2>\n
Current research and future directions<\/h2>\n