Poor Sleep Quality And Insomnia Associated With Suicidal Symptoms Among College Students

ScienceDaily (Jun. 9, 2008) — Poor sleep quality and insomnia are significantly associated with suicidal symptoms among college undergraduates, according to a research abstract that will be presented on June 9 at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).

"This investigation attempted to clarify whether self-reported sleep disturbances serve as a risk factor for suicide ideation in a nonclinical sample of young adults," said Bernert. "We found that insomnia and poor sleep quality jointly predicted elevated suicidal symptoms, even after controlling for depression. However, these sleep complaints failed to individually predict increased risk for suicide. This suggests that, within a less severe sample, multiple indices of sleep disturbances may be necessary to assess suicide risk and guide clinical decision-making. These findings may inform both intervention efforts and suicide risk assessment models."

Insomnia is a classification of sleep disorders in which a person has trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or waking up too early. It is the most commonly reported sleep disorder. About 30 percent of adults have symptoms of insomnia.

It is recommended that adults get between seven and eight hours of nightly sleep.

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