Minneapolis St. Paul Mental Health Blog

Minnesota Mental Health | Three consecutive nights of fewer than 6 hours of sleep caused the mental and physical well-being of US adults to greatly deteriorate,

..... according to study results published online ahead of print in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

Mental Health and Sleep | Most of us know first-hand that lack of sleep has a profound effect on how we function day to day.

From irritability and increased clumsiness to greater susceptibility to colds and chronic diseases, there's ample research to back this up.

Now, a large new study also confirms that being sleep deprived really can suck the joy out of life.

Mental Health for students | Delaying high school start times by about an hour increased the amount adolescents slept on school nights, and also reduced their catch-up sleep on weekends, according to results from a cohort study.

For their research published in JAMA Pediatrics, Rachel Widome, PhD, of the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and colleagues followed a cohort of students at five public high schools in suburban and rural Minneapolis, randomly selecting 455 (225 girls; mean age, 15 years) for wrist actigraphy to track sleep and activity.

Mental Health Update | Ongoing or worsening sleep difficulties in older adults with depression may signal increased risk of continued depression and suicidal ideation.....

Mental Health Matters | Healthy college students and other young adults who take prescription stimulants simply for a brain boost may be doing themselves a disservice….

…..according to a new study that found non-prescribed stimulants barely improved short-term focus and markedly worsened working memory and sleep.

Exposure to artificial light was associated with higher average BMI.

Frequent use of sleep medications may increase the risk of future cognitive impairment, new research suggests.

Sleep and Mental Health | Insomnia complicates both the course and the treatment of depression, and is more likely to emerge before depression than during or after it.

Karl Doghramji, MD, speaks about insomnia on the opening day of the third annual Elevate by Psych Congress conference.

Insomnia may also be associated with increased risk of suicidal ideation, inflammation, heart disease, breathing problems, hypertension, and chronic pain.

Sleep difficulties can both cause and result from psychiatric disorders, and clinicians must be sure to treat the conditions simultaneously, Psych Congress co-chair Charles L. Raison, MD, said at the Psych Congress Regionals meetings.

Mental Health | Many patients experience ongoing issues with nightmares or night terrors.

Most of us have had a nightmare — a dream that wakes us feeling afraid or anxious. Many patients experience ongoing issues with frightening dreams, which we call nightmare disorder.