The Link Between Sleep and Mental Disorders

Having problems with sleep are typical among individuals riddled with mental disorders. As the concerned individual's mental condition improves, so does his or her sleeping condition. Most cases have revealed that prior to the emergence of other symptoms associated with a mental disorder, sleep disorder comes first. Typical sleep problems would be in the forms of insomnia and hypersomnia.
Trouble falling or staying asleep is a typical indication of insomnia. Usually, if dozing off is the main concern, taking a certain sleep aid would be the usual recourse. On the other hand, uncommon drowsiness during the day would characterize hypersomnia. More often than not, this drowsiness is noticeable, for it strikes the concerned person throughout the day despite of having long hours of sleep the night before. Regardless of these differences, both sleep disorders share a common denominator aside from being symptoms of mental disorder: Regardless of whether a sufferer could not sleep or feels sleepy most of the time, he or she would not feel rejuvenated upon waking up.
Insomnia and hypersomnia are sleep disorders belonging to a range of symptoms associated with many diverse kinds of mental disorders. They are as follows:
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
People diagnosed with SAD become depressed during the winter months only. Common sleep problems associated with SAD are the following: excessive sleeping, disrupted sleep, trouble staying up during the daytime, and at times, getting up too early during mornings.
Somatoform Disorder
People who tend to persistently complain about diverse physical ailments are said to have a specific mental condition known as somatoform disorder. Sufferers for this type of mental illness commonly have insomnia.
Personality Disorder
People encumbered with any of the varied types of personality disorders have social difficulties, which involve relating to other people and circumstances. Usually, they tend to be insomniacs.
Panic Disorder
People with this disorder experience repetitive panic episodes characterized by excessive fear or anxiety, which could persist for minutes or even hours. These panic attacks could disrupt them in the midst of sleep. Once they are awakened by it, falling back to sleep again would prove to be a challenge for them.
Schizophrenia
People diagnosed with schizophrenia have trouble differentiating what is real from what is not. They are prone to having hallucinations. Compared to others, their logical mind may not function as normally, and their emotional responses may be altered as well. As schizophrenia escalates, insomnia would often be part of the aggravating symptoms.
General Anxiety Disorder
Chronic worrying about a variety of circumstances usually characterizes people with GAD. Oftentimes, they would be riddled with insomnia that could give them trouble in dozing off at night, which could also awaken them in the midst of their sleep.
Adjustment Disorder
Specific circumstances in life can be so stressful that it could elicit intense reactions from some people. Once this happens, these concerned individuals could already be suffering from adjustment disorder in which one of the symptoms would be insomnia.
Manic Depressive Disorder
Bipolar disorder is another term for manic depressive disorder. People with this condition would alternate between periods of mania (excitability) and depression (sorrow). Hypersomnia would be the usual sleep problem associated with it.