Researchers claim sleep loss is not a symptom of mental health issues, but rather a cause. Therefore, a recent study proved how improving people’s sleep conditions might also help them improve their mental state, and experience less symptoms associated with anxiety and depression.
Better sleep could be linked to better mental health and less paranoia episodes
For the study, researchers had the participants undergo an online therapy for insomnia. At the end of the trial, they slept better, but also experienced significantly less symptoms of serious mental health conditions, such as hallucinations or paranoia. Also, these people struggled less with depression or anxiety.
This study, published in the journal The Lancet Psychiatry, reached a clear conclusion. The secret behind a better mental state is a good night’s sleep. Also, it challenges the older beliefs which claimed people started having trouble sleeping if they had mental problems. Instead of thinking like this, doctors should see sleep as a cause, and concentrate on how they can improve it.
The therapy improved both their sleep and their mental health
Researchers had some of the participants undergo a special program containing six sessions of therapy. This program was called Sleepio. All participants suffered from insomnia, but also struggled with behavioral and cognitive issues. What resulted was the biggest randomized controlled trial in the field of psychology, with a sample of 3,755 people.
The trial took place in the UK, and several students volunteered to be a part of it. However, only half of them had to watch the therapy sessions, while the others didn’t. Then, they also had to answer several questionnaires regarding the quality of their sleep or the insomnia or paranoia episodes they had experienced.
At the end of the trial, participants noticed many improvements. On a scale from 0 to 32 points, they reported a reduction of insomnia by 4.78 points. Also, the paranoia episodes decreased by 2.2 points, and the number of hallucination instances by 1.58 points. Therefore, the better your sleep gets, the more chances you have to improve your mental health condition.
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