Poor or insufficient sleep has been found to increase negative emotional responses to stressors and to decrease positive emotions. And there is now robust evidence similarly supporting that sleep is critical to not only our physical health but also our mental health. Many of us know that we feel better after “a good night’s sleep” and more grumpy or foggy if sleep deprived. Why is sleep so important to our mental health? “Just like our electronics need to be charged, sleep may recharge or reset the brain to optimize functioning,” says Elizabeth Blake Zakarin, an assistant professor of psychology (in Psychiatry) and a clinical psychologist at the Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders.Ĭolumbia Psychiatry News spoke with Zakarin about the psychological impact of sleep deprivation, challenges brought on by the pandemic, the influence of food on our sleep patterns, and effective treatments for sleep difficulties. Anxiety and depression rates were also considerably higher than pre-pandemic levels in the same survey. Furthermore, sleep disturbances were linked to higher levels of psychological distress. Unfortunately, it only got worse when the pandemic isolated us from friends and family, closed our schools and offices, and sent shock waves through the economy.Īccording to a study of 22,330 adults from 13 countries published in Sleep Medicine in November 2021, one in three participants, had clinical insomnia symptoms and nearly 20 percent met the criteria for insomnia disorder-rates more than double what they were before the pandemic. Americans were having trouble sleeping before COVID-19.
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