Missing sleep occasionally is nothing to worry about. Maybe that’s the concern. We do not realize when and how, and very stealthily, this recurrence of skipping a few hours increases. I myself have never given sleep much thought. If there is any imminent unavoidable task, the first thing I used to do is skip sleep and burn the midnight oil.
My awareness started when I began my counselling journey. Most of my clients are taking medication for mental health concerns, and when I start delving into their lives, I have found that sleep always plays a crucial role. Be it excessive sleep, lack of sleep, erratic sleep or sleeplessness, sleep seems to be engineering their life and events. One thing leads to the other, and they have a host of unknown worries they are unable to surmount.
People with insomnia may have a tenfold higher risk of developing depression than people who get a good night’s sleep. And among people with depression, 75 percent have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.
Which comes first? “Either one can be the starting point,” says Johns Hopkins sleep researcher Patrick H. Finan, Ph.D. “Poor sleep may create difficulties regulating emotions that, in turn, may leave you more vulnerable to depression in the future—months or even years from now. And depression itself is associated with sleep difficulties such as shortening the amount of restorative slow wave sleep a person gets each night.”
If you have depression, daily stresses—such as financial worries, an argument with your spouse, or a jam-packed evening commute—could also lead to more nighttime wakeups and more trouble getting back to sleep than someone without depression would experience.
Understanding the relationship between insomnia and depression can help you spot risks early, get the right help, and recover more fully if you are experiencing both. You’ll feel healthy, well-rested, and able to enjoy life again.
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