Sleep Disturbances and Suicide Risk

Suicide occurs in the presence of psychiatric illness, and is associated with biological, psychological, and social risk factors. Insomnia symptoms and nightmares appear to present elevated risk for suicidal ideation, attempts, and death by suicide. Failure to account for the presence of psychopathology and frequent use of single item assessments of sleep and suicidal ideation are common methodological problems in this literature. Preliminary research, addressing these issues, suggests that subjective sleep complaints may confer independent risk for suicidal behaviors.