Insomnia is a sleep disorder characterized by a lack of quality sleep, either from difficulty falling or staying asleep. It goes hand-in-hand with mental illness; for example people who have insomnia are 10 times more likely to have depression than the general population, and 17 times more likely to have anxiety. Changes in sleep patterns can also be one of the early signs of a mental health condition — but how do you distinguish when a lack of sleep is a mental illness symptom versus a temporary period of tossing and turning?
Most common early signs of mental illness
Mental illness can present itself in a myriad of ways, with the symptoms that appear varying by the type of condition and the severity. There are four types of changes that can often be the first warning signs of a mental health issue: emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and physical. Insomnia is just one type of physical change that could manifest if a person has a mental health condition.
Emotional and mood changes
- Irritability
- Mood swings
- Loss of interest in hobbies
- Apathy
Behavioral changes
- Social withdrawal
- Changes in personal hygiene
- Poor performance at work or school
- Drug use
Cognitive impairment
- Confusion
- Difficulty concentrating
- Memory loss
- Paranoia or hallucinations
Physical changes
- Change in appetite
- Low energy, sleep problems
- Bodily pain like headaches or gastrointestinal issues
Failing to get a good night’s rest can be one of the first signs that something is wrong with our mental health, but it’s not necessarily the more reliable indicator, especially if it occurs in isolation. Diagnosis of a mental illness looks for clusters of specific symptoms.
When is insomnia an indication of a larger issue?
There are several ways insomnia can be categorized: acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term), primary and. Secondary insomnia. Understanding these types can be helpful in informing whether sleep disruptions might be a symptom of mental illness.
Acute insomnia vs Chronic insomnia
Acute insomnia is insomnia that lasts for a few days up to a few weeks. It typically occurs in isolation as a direct result of something specific like changes in routine or increased stress. Chronic insomnia is defined as insomnia that occurs at least times a week for three or more months.
Someone experiencing insomnia for an extended period of time is much more likely to have an underlying circumstance that could be a mental health condition, though it’s still not a sure thing. For example, say there’s construction going on during your typical sleep hours. Construction can take a long time and account for weeks and months of sleep deprivation rather than an internal cause.
Primary insomnia vs. Secondary insomnia
Primary insomnia is when the condition is not related to a larger medical issue. Secondary insomnia is the label used to describe insomnia that occurs alongside or as a result of health issues such as health conditions or a side effect of medications.
What does insomnia have to do with mental health?
Sleep is critically important to both physical and mental well-being. It’s the time when your body repairs itself (muscle is built, damaged cells are fixed, infections and other foreign bodies are fought) and the brain processes the day’s information and prepares for the intake of the new. Rest is also required to maintain the delicate cocktail of hormones and neurotransmitters that allows us to function
With insomnia, a chronic lack of sleep due to difficulty falling or staying asleep, these important functions become highly dysregulated, thereby disrupting this precise balancing act and quickly throwing the body’s internal processes into chaos.
Mental health is particularly vulnerable to these disruptions because many of those neurochemicals that disrupt are the same ones that can cause mental illness, such as dopamine, serotonin, and cortisol. When imbalances occur due to a lack of sleep, it heightens the risk of mental health developing and can also worsen existing mental health conditions.
Insomnia can also indirectly increase the risk or severity of mental illness by causing the amygdala (the brain’s emotional center) to be hyperactive, effectively making us more emotionally reactive and subject to increased irritability and mood swings. This hyperactivity comes at the cost of a weakened prefrontal cortex, the control center of the brain that’s responsible for all of our higher-level functions like making decisions, cognition, and impulse control. This combination can result in behavior that’s detrimental to mental health, such as eating junk food or using drugs.
Can treating mental illness improve my insomnia?
The relationship between sleep and mental illness is extremely complex. Insomnia can be its own condition and actually cause mental illness. It’s less important to try and pinpoint which came first than it is to understand how to address these two simultaneously occurring conditions.
Talk to a mental health provider today to learn whether your insomnia is a sign of mental illness — or the other way around.