The Ecology of Bipolar Disorder: The Importance of Sleep

Abstract

Although much of the emphasis in treating Bipolar Disorder patients is on pharmacotherapy, sleep loss is an important trigger for mania and plays an important role in the condition. The purpose of this paper is to fully explore the chronobiological, environmental, social, and genetic factors that contribute to the sleep disruption that is characteristic of mania and bipolar disorder. This review is important because sleep, chronobiology, and genetics are under-emphasized content areas in nursing education. As a result, many practicing nurses are unaware of the importance of sleep for mental health or what to teach patients to improve both the quality of their sleep and the management of their condition.

A dependence that empowers—the meaning of the conditions that enable a good life with bipolar disorder

“…The current study agrees with previous research (see for example, Goossens et al, 2007a; Jönsson et al, 2008; Reinares et al, 2008; Umlauf & Shatell, 2005) on the significance of protecting oneself from running out of energy by paying attention to rest, sleep as well as prioritizing, building stable structures and early recognition of coming deterioration when living with BD. This also corresponds with a greatly explored area of what nurses actually do while caring for patients with BD (see for example, Goossens, van Achterberg, & Knoppert-van der Klein, 2007b; Hummelvoll & Severinsson, 2002; Jones & Jones, 2008).…”

“…Post (2005) maintains that early diagnosis and understanding of the illness, early medical treatment as well as support from family and friends prevents serious negative impact on life, but emphasizes that there is a great need for new approaches that sustain a long-term stability in life with BD. Umlauf and Shatell (2005) state that sleep loss plays an important role in life with BD and the authors mean that patients need to be taught to improve the quality of their sleep and give suggestions of how this can be done. Bauer et al (2006) have studied the temporal relationship between sleep and mood in patients with BD and they show that sleep changes from a previous pattern may indicate that a large mood change is imminent.…”

Understanding the experiences of ketogenic metabolic therapy for people living with varying levels of depressive symptoms: a thematic analysis

“…It is important to note that for some people, sleep may get worse before it gets better, especially in the first few weeks of the KD as the body moves into a state of ketosis (29,89). For those with depressive symptoms or other diagnosed psychiatric illnesses this requires close monitoring as sleep deprivation or untracked sleep alterations can increase the possibility of experiencing negative psychiatric symptoms such as mania, hypomania, and psychosis (90)(91)(92)(93). Therefore, it is important to always work alongside an experienced clinician when deciding to implement ketogenic metabolic therapy with the goal of reducing psychiatric symptoms and improving overall mental health.…”

Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: Do not forget patients with severe mental illness

“…Simple but useful instructions such as maintain sleeping hygiene to have a good quality sleep, eating well, humor, music, and regular exercise ( Marziali et al., 2008 ; Umlauf & Shattell, 2005 ).…”