3. Sleep alterations
Sleep is one of the three pillars of mental health, along with nutrition and physical exercise. When any of these three aspects of our lives are disturbed, not only are we more likely to develop a mental condition, but also we might already have a disorder, and these disturbances are a symptom of that.
Our sleep patterns are regulated by a complex system in our brain, where neurotransmission such as noradrenaline and serotonin interact with each other, regulating the stages of our sleep and the time we fall asleep and wake up.
When the balance between these neurotransmitters is lost, just as what happens in disorders such as bipolar, depression, and anxiety, our sleep pattern gets altered. In the case of bipolar disorder, it is characteristic of the manic episode to sleep very little, and still feel energized and completely rested. Inversely, depressive episodes often increase fatigue and demotivation, and people sleep for longer.