In a small but interesting study out of the USA, researchers have found a link between insomniacs who experience despair over getting a good night’s sleep, and a higher risk for suicide. Research conducted at the Georgia Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior at Georgia Regents University affirms the previously established link between insomnia, nightmares and suicide. The research also discovered that it was the sense of hopelessness over getting a good sleep that was, as Dr. McCall (a specialist in depression and sleep disorders) stated, “the mediating factor that explained why insomnia was linked to suicide.”
Researchers believe that insomnia coupled with a sense of sleep deprivation hopelessness is, “a strong predictor for suicidal thinking” and advise physicians to be alert for these signs in their patients.
The authors of the study have published an article, titled, “Nightmares and dysfunctional beliefs about sleep mediate the effect of insomnia symptoms on suicidal ideation” in the February 2013 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.