mental health and lack of sleep

[Guest Posts]

Hi, I’m really struggling with my sleep, to drift off and stay asleep. I think I must only be getting a few hours a night if that. This is causing me to feel quite low and anxious a lot of the time. This has been happening since feb, before lockdown (which hasn’t helped!) I don’t have any mental health conditions and don’t have a family history of anything like that but I was wondering how long does it take for lack of sleep/insomnia to unravel mental health? Thanks Kelly

[Dr Neil Stanley]

Thanks, Kelly for your question. Poor sleep in the short term can lead to feelings of tiredness and low mood/anxiety, but these should disappear once you start sleeping better again. Although sleep and mental health problems are closely linked it is not necessarily the case that one will lead to the other. You may want to try Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia to help improve your sleep.