Study finds correlation between quality of sleep and mental health

CHARLOTTE — It’s not surprising that there’s a connection between sleep and mental health, but new research specifically focused on health care workers underscores that link.

Researchers at Columbia University studied health care workers and found that those with poor sleep were twice as likely to report symptoms of depression, and 70% more likely to report anxiety.

The pandemic has made the problem worse, leading nearly three-quarters of the health care workers in the study to report at least moderate insomnia symptoms.

Researchers can’t say whether it’s poor sleep causing mental health issues, or vice versa, but they said there’s a direct correlation -- and improving one definitely helps the other.

Sleep experts recommend cutting screen use before bedtime, especially in children. They said using electronic devices can delay the process of falling asleep and lower the quality of the sleep you do get.

They also recommend eliminating distractions and lowering the temperature a few degrees.

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