Researchers have found a strong link between poor sleep quality and mental health issues, with each potentially influencing the other. Establishing consistent sleep habits, such as maintaining a regular bedtime and wake-up schedule, can be beneficial.

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Experts say there’s a link between poor sleep and mental health issues. Basak Gurbuz Derman/Getty Images

People living with mental health conditions have a higher chance of not getting good quality sleep, according to a 2021 study.

However, like the proverbial chicken-and-egg question, it isn’t always clear which causes which. Instead, the relationship appears to be bidirectional, meaning either one can cause the other.

Here’s what the experts are saying.

Dr. James Greenblatt, the chief medical officer at the Walden Behavioral Center in Waltham, Massachusetts, told Healthline that sleep disorders are “highly correlated” with mental health conditions.

“The vast majority of psychiatric diagnoses result in insomnia and disordered sleep,” Greenblatt said. “Sleep disturbances are seen across all psychiatric disorders, although they are also found in situations of high stress without mental illness. As such, it has been becoming increasingly clear that the connection can run in both directions.”

Suicide risk

Greenblatt said that the significance of sleep can be a matter of life or death.

“The latest research is clearly establishing the relationship between mental health and sleep, which is making clinicians increasingly aware of the importance of the connection between the two,” he said.

“The most extreme example of sleep disorders and psychiatric illness is the relationship between poor sleep and suicide. The recent American Psychiatric Association textbook on suicide prevention even added a new chapter with multiple references on the relationship between suicide risk and insomnia,” Greenblatt said.

Help is out there

If you or someone you know is in crisis and considering suicide or self-harm, please seek support:

  • Call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. Caring counselors are available to listen and provide free and confidential support 24/7.
  • Text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 to connect with a volunteer crisis counselor for free and confidential support 24/7.
  • Not in the United States? Find a helpline in your country with Befrienders Worldwide.
  • Call 911 or your local emergency services number if you feel safe to do so.

If you’re calling on behalf of someone else, stay with them until help arrives. You may remove weapons or substances that can cause harm if you can do so safely.

If you’re not in the same household, stay on the phone with them until help arrives.

Sleep deprivation and parenthood

Dr. Anandhi Narasimhan, a Los Angeles-based psychiatrist and writer, told Healthline that sleep has historically been underrated as a factor in people’s well-being.

“One of the biggest life cycle changes where sleep is underrated is the experience of being a new parent,” Narasimhan said.

“Even with support, new parents are often sleep deprived, have altered sleep routines, and that contributes to mental health symptoms,” she said. “In certain areas, such as in medicine, there have been new rules to limit the hours of physician trainees with respect to call schedules so that sleep is factored in as important.”

Research states that 80% to 90% of people with depression have challenges sleeping.

Narasimhan stresses the importance of good sleep hygiene.

“This includes having a consistent routine, going to bed at the same time every night, and rising at the same time,” she said. “Turning off digital devices well before bedtime is also useful in promoting sleep and helping with winding down.”

Greenblatt said addressing biological factors, such as nutritional deficiencies and inflammation, is also a big part of getting good sleep.

“Nutrients like zinc and magnesium are critical for making melatonin, the hormone secreted to support sleep at night,” he explained.

“Inflammation is our biological response to stress, infection, and other environmental challenges. Research has shown that insomnia also contributes to increased inflammation. This combination of inflammation and insomnia then acts in a combined fashion, contributing to or exacerbating psychiatric illness,” he said.

Greenblatt suggested using supplements such as:

“Resolving sleep disturbances is one of the most important factors for health and wellness and one of the most significant factors in the treatment of anxiety and depression,” Greenblatt said.

Research has found a close relationship between mental health issues and sleep deprivation. Experts emphasize the importance of prioritizing quality sleep to protect your mental health.

One of the difficulties that experts identified is that mental health issues often lead to sleep challenges as well. This means that mental health disorders and sleep deprivation have a bidirectional relationship.

Proactively managing your mental health and sleep quality is essential. If you experience difficulties with either, consider consulting your doctor. They will discuss and plan strategies like improving sleep hygiene, exploring supplements, or evaluating the need for medication.