While doctors know a lot about the anatomy of the nervous system and neurophysiology, biologically they don’t yet have a clear understanding of the exact brain processes responsible for regulating sleep and mood and anxiety levels, Neubauer says. But sleep problems do increase your risk of developing a psychological condition, so it’s important to do what you can to address either problem so it doesn’t bring on other symptoms, Neubauer explains. Just because you’re having trouble sleeping doesn’t mean you have depression, anxiety, or any other mental illness, nor does it mean you’ll develop one of those problems.

“The good news is that improvement in either can be beneficial for the other,” Neubauer says. For instance, for that person who developed insomnia that triggered constant anxiety, getting treatment for that insomnia (that allows he or she to get back on a healthy sleep schedule) may help the anxiety symptoms get better, too. The flip side is that addressing one of the problems (likely the one you started experiencing first) can help the other one go away, too. “Worse sleep or mental health can have a negative impact on the other.” “There does appear to be a circular relationship between sleep health and mental health,” says Neubauer. That means if you started having trouble sleeping, it persisted, became insomnia, and as a result you developed a problem with constant anxiety - that anxiety can in turn make your sleep problems worse, too. The important point to know about this bidirectional relationship is that whatever the initial cause and the symptoms (whether insomnia is causing a mental health problem or vice versa), either can make the other worse. ( 4) A meta-analysis that collectively included 172,077 individuals found that those with insomnia had a twofold increased risk of developing depression compared with individuals without insomnia. ( 2, 3) At the same time, as many as 40 to 50 percent of people with insomnia also have a mental health disorder.

“The formula varies - some start off with insomnia that develops into depression, while others start off with depression that leads to insomnia,” Dr. Neubauer says.īipolar disorder, depression, stress, or anxiety, all increase your likelihood of developing insomnia. As with the proverbial chicken and egg, it’s not always easy to tell which came first. When it comes to the link between insomnia and mental health, the relationship may best be described as bidirectional, meaning one can worsen the other and vice versa. Sleep patterns, including insomnia, are affected by any number of physical, mental, emotional, and even social issues.

Anxiety induced insomnia