Recently I have been thinking about the correlation of various psychological disorders and sleep. Depression often causes individuals to sleep more than the average person. Anxiety prevents individuals from sleeping. Bipolar disorder causes both lack and excess of sleep depending the stage they are in (meaning manic or depressive).
After some research, I learned that in fact 50 to 80% of individuals living with psychological are also affected by sleep disorders. And there is scientific proof that lack of sleep may in fact influence the likelihood of a psychological disorder. Which in turn got me thinking about how this lack of sleep affects those already disproportionately affected by lack of sleep.
That is how does it affect working class individuals who have to work multiple jobs? What happens to single mothers who are trying to support their children and go to school? How are individuals who are homeless affected? But perhaps the biggest question of all is why is sleep not valued enough in society if it is so tied to mental health?
