Thanh Nhan

Sleeping difficulties may increase the risk of suicide in older adults even when other symptoms of depression aren’t present, Cach su dung sua onesource a new study suggests.

The study focused on adults 65 and older, and poor sleep included difficulty falling or staying asleep, waking up early in the morning, experiencing daytime sleepiness and not feeling fully rested after a night’s sleep.

“These findings suggest that sleep disturbances stand alone as a valid risk factor — independent of depressed mood — and worthy of focus as a potential [suicide] risk factor, screening and intervention tool,” said lead researcher Rebecca Bernert, an instructor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine. “Compared to many other known suicide risk factors, sleep disturbances are arguably less stigmatizing and may be undone, and are highly treatable.”

Among the 20 study participants who died by suicide, 19 were men. The researchers randomly matched these 20 people to 400 living participants based on shared age, sex and location, and then compared their sleep quality and depression scores.

The study couldn’t prove that sleeping problems cause suicidal thoughts or attempts, nor could it explain why the link may exist. But, Bo sung dinh duong cho nguoi gia Bernert said, it’s likely that poor sleep affects the ability to regulate moods.

“The idea is simple: when we sleep poorly, it impacts how we feel and the way in which we manage our emotions, as well as decision-making,” Bernert said. Past research has shown that fragmented sleep can result in more intense negative emotions, impaired judgment and difficulty managing fear or anger.

Those who reported having poor sleep quality at the start of the study had 40 percent greater odds of dying by suicide during the next 10 years before depression symptoms had been considered. Even after making calculations to remove the effects of depression symptoms, the odds of dying by suicide were 30 percent higher for those reporting poorer sleep quality, the study authors said.

Also, those who reported not feeling well-rested after sleeping had twice the odds of dying by suicide compared to those not reporting sleeping problems, even after symptoms of depression had been consid