How can depression and anxiety influence sleep disorders?

• A. They can cause insomnia or hypersomnia; sleep disturbances can worsen mood disorders; some antidepressants can affect sleep architecture
• B. They have no effect
• C. They always improve sleep
• D. They only affect daytime energy

Answer: (A)

Depression and anxiety commonly disrupt sleep, and the relationship goes both ways. Anxiety adds hyperarousal and racing thoughts that make it hard to fall asleep or stay asleep, while depression can cause insomnia or oversleeping (hypersomnia). When sleep is disturbed, mood and daytime functioning suffer, which can worsen the underlying mood disorder and feed back into more sleep problems in a vicious cycle. Sleep debt and poor sleep also blunt emotional regulation and heighten stress responses, further deepening anxiety and depressive symptoms. Medications used to treat depression, such as various antidepressants, can change sleep architecture—altering REM sleep timing or continuity and causing daytime sedation—so sleep patterns can shift even as mood improves. The other options overlook this impact on both nighttime sleep and mood, and the possibility that medications can modify sleep.