A new study shows a connection between insomnia and suicidal thoughts. The study recommends dedicated assessments and treatments for sleep disorders to reduce the risk of suicide due to depression, reports Medical Xpress.
Detrimental beliefs about sleep and nightmares increase the risk of suicide among depressed people. Loss of sleep results in dysfunctional belief that builds an expression of hopelessness, which researchers suggest links to suicide.
"Insomnia and nightmares, which are often confused and go hand-in-hand, are known risk factors for suicide but just how they contribute was unknown," said Dr. W. Vaughn McCall, the study's lead author and chair of the Medical College of Georgia Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior at Georgia Regents University, according to Medical Xpress. "This study reaffirms that link and adds the element of hopelessness about sleep that is independent of other types of hopelessness, such as those regarding personal relationships and careers."
The study closely monitored 50 depressed people who were hospitalized. Most of these patients were women and all of them were undergoing a psychiatric medication. These patients were between the ages of 20 to 84 and more than 50 percent of them had attempted suicide at least once in the past. They were asked questions on the degree of insomnia and if they experienced nightmares and also if they had any suicidal thoughts.
It was found that when people who were insomniacs and had suicidal thoughts; insomnia was usually the cause of the suicide. However, when insomnia was accompanied by nightmaresand disturbed thoughts, the condition could no longer be linked to suicide.
"It turns out insomnia can lead to a very specific type of hopelessness, and hopelessness by itself is a powerful predictor of suicide," McCall said. "It's fascinating because what it tells you is we have discovered a new predictor for suicidal thinking."
