People who do not get enough sleep are at greater risk of paranoia, depression, anxiety and nightmares.
It was previously thought people struggling with depression and mental health problems could not sleep at night as a result.
But a study now shows it is probably the lack of sleep causing these issues and not the other way around.
People who do not get enough sleep are at greater risk of paranoia, depression, anxiety and nightmares
People with insomnia given cognitive behavioural therapy to help them sleep saw a fall in anxiety and depression of 20 per cent, were more likely to trust others and were 10 per cent happier as a result.
The findings come from researchers at the University of Oxford, who monitored almost 3,890 sleep-deprived people.
Those who miss out on sleep are thought to damage their mental health because they deny their brain valuable ‘housekeeping’ time in which new memories are processed and older ones managed.
On any given night one in three people are struggling to get to sleep, and this is believed to get them ‘stuck’ on repetitive negative and mistrustful thoughts.
Lead author Daniel Freeman, professor of clinical psychology at the University of Oxford and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, said: ‘Sleep problems are very common in people with mental health disorders, but for too long insomnia has been trivialised as merely a symptom, rather than a cause, of psychological difficulties. ‘This study turns that old idea on its head, showing that insomnia may actually be a contributory cause of mental health problems.
The findings come from researchers at the University of Oxford, who monitored almost 3,890 sleep-deprived people
‘A good night’s sleep really can make a difference to people’s psychological health. Helping people get better sleep could be an important first step in tackling many psychological and emotional problems.’
The study, funded by the Wellcome Trust, divided 3,755 people at random into two groups.
The group given cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia were given the option of keeping sleep diaries, listening to relaxation tapes and using strategies such as getting out of bed after 15 minutes of sleeplessness and tensing and relaxing their muscles.
These people saw their insomnia reduced by 50 per cent, and at the same time became less likely to suffer from hallucinations, nightmares and anxiety.
The therapy sessions, delivered online, also improved paranoia, making people less likely to believe people were avoiding them, laughing at them, or ‘singling them out’.
The effects of sleep deprivation do not hit everyone equally, with people who are more prone to negative thoughts likely to see them magnified by insomnia.
Professor Freeman said: ‘Poor sleep causes double trouble for your mind – there is an impact both on what you think and how you think it.
‘Thoughts become skewed towards the downbeat and fearful, while brain processing tends towards loops of repetitive negative thinking.
‘In essence, the psychological consequence of disrupted sleep is that we have negative thoughts and we get stuck in them.’
The study of university students under the age of 25, published in the journal Lancet Psychiatry, is thought to be the first large enough to determine the effects of treating insomnia on psychotic experiences. The authors say it is likely to apply to all age groups.
Individuals who received the CBT sleep treatment were also less likely over the course of the trial to experience a depressive episode or an anxiety disorder.
Dr Andrew Welchman, Head of Neuroscience and Mental Health at Wellcome, said: “This is an important study that provides further evidence that sleep is an important factor in understanding mental health problems.
‘This study suggests that improving sleep could provide a promising route into early treatment to improve mental health in young people.’