Highlighting the Connection Between Sleep Disruption and Mental Health Disorders

Sleep takes up nearly a third of a patient’s life, yet its importance to mental health outcomes has been drastically understated in therapeutic conversations.  

 

On the latest episode of Mind Dive, Menninger's podcast for mental health professionals, Myrtle Jeroudi, MD, a staff neurologist with The Clinic’s Sleep Medicine Service, weighs in on how deeply intertwined sleep disruption is to mental health disorders and why asking the right questions regarding sleep is a crucial step in clinical assessments.  

 

A patient’s disrupted sleep habits often signal deeper disturbances and, if left untreated, can lead to worsening symptoms. Early sleep intervention in treatment can lead to better sleep hygiene and habits, potentially eliminating the need for medication-based intervention. As more and more individuals seeking mental health care report sleep issues nationwide, Dr. Jeroudi stresses the need for clinicians to perform robust sleep assessments for better therapeutic outcomes and improved long-term health.  

 

“When you don't sleep well, your mood is going to be impacted, but the way we've understood this relationship has changed to be bi-directional, where one affects the other,” notes Dr. Jeroudi. “So, if you have depression or anxiety, you're not getting good sleep. And when you have those bad nights of sleep or poor quality of sleep, it's going to impact how severe your mood disorder is, too.”  

 

In addition to her role at Menninger, Dr. Jeroudi is also an assistant professor in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine. She is board certified in neurology, clinical neurophysiology and sleep medicine.