The relationship between sleep and mental health is well known. Sleep disorders like insomnia are closely associated to mental health disorders like anxiety and depression, and the first line of treatment for all of these conditions is often medications. However, at the TMS Institute of Arizona, we offer an alternative—transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS. This is a zero-medication, non-invasive, no-downtime treatment that can help minimize the symptoms of various sleep disorders and mental health concerns including depression and anxiety. It can be used in conjunction with medications or in collaboration with your prescribing doctor, as a means of tapering down medication dependency.
A recent study published in Sleep Journal found that post-menopausal women with “erratic sleep schedules” are 70 percent likelier to have “significant depressive symptoms.” The cross-sectional study examined the mental health and sleep patterns of 1,197 women who were an average of 65 years old. The research team gathered data on various non-invasive sleep measures like sleep timing, regularity, and the mean midpoint between the onset of sleep and waking up. In addition, participants were assigned a well-being score based on answers from the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 Scale and Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale.
After all data was collected, the researchers designed logistics regression and linear models to see if there was a link between mental health and sleep patterns. This was not the first time such a study has been undertaken, but their particular interest was in older women (one of the most common demographics to struggle with insomnia). They discovered that “a sleep midpoint outside the hours of 2:00 to 4:00 a.m. was significantly associated with depressive symptoms.” This sleep pattern was also found to have a “significant association with psychological health.” Overall, they found that women in this age group with irregular sleep patterns had more depression and anxiety symptoms, as well as overall lower psychological health.
The Sleep-Mental Health Connection
According to the lead author,
It could definitely be the case that the women in our study who had depressive symptoms had a different type of sleep schedule because they were depressed, or that their depression was causing them to have more irregular sleep-wake patterns.
It is the classic chicken or the egg question that is so often asked among sleep doctors and mental health experts. However, there is no singular answer for all. In some cases poor sleep comes first, followed by anxiety or depression, and in other cases a person may be diagnosed with a mental health condition first with sleep issues following months or even years later. Ultimately it does not matter—what matters is treating all conditions, ideally in a conservative and safe manner.
The Importance of Sleep for Mental Health
No matter what mental health condition(s) a person is diagnosed with, good quality sleep is going to help. This, of course, can be difficult. If a person has anxiety, they experience excess worry, including worrying about being able to sleep. This leads to insomnia, sometimes chronic insomnia, which in turn inherently worsens the symptoms of anxiety and any other condition. It is a vicious cycle, but one that can be broken.
There are side effects to many medications, including those for sleep disorders and mental health disorders. There is also an understandable desire by many to reduce or eliminate their dependency on medications, especially long-term. This is where TMS can help. It can be used with or without medications, though you should always discuss any changes to medications with your prescribing physician first.
The TMS Difference
TMS works by attaching electromagnetic pads to the scalp, which will then send impulses to targeted areas of the brain. This has been shown to lessen the symptoms of sleep disorders and many mental health conditions including anxiety and depression (among others). The exact protocol will depend on various factors, but most people require just a few minutes of TMS per day for up to two weeks in order to achieve results that can last for several months.
Can TMS help you with your sleep issues and/or mental health concerns? Find out during a consultation. Connect with the TMS Institute of Arizona today by calling the office or completing the online contact form.
