Patterns of Sleep Disturbances in Individuals with Psychiatric Disorders: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract Background: Sleep disturbances are prevalent among individuals with psychiatric disorders, yet their systematic assessment is neglected, as the focus is usually more on core psychiatric symptoms. It can be the cause as well as the symptom of psychiatric disorders. Understanding the relationship between sleep disruption and psychiatric symptoms severity is critical for integrated care. This study aims to determine the prevalence of sleep disturbances in psychiatric patients, examine the associations between demographic/clinical variables and sleep patterns, and to assess the relationships between psychiatric symptoms, severity, and sleep quality. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care psychiatric hospital on 50 patients selected by convenient sampling. Standardized tools, brief psychiatric rating scale (BPRS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Sleep Quality Scale were used to assess the psychiatric symptoms and sleep pattern and quality, respectively. Chi-square test was used to analyze the associations between the variables. Results: Younger age (15–40 years) and longer duration of illness were significantly associated with higher BPRS scores. Shorter illness duration correlated with severe sleep disturbances. Sleep disorder diagnosis was not correlated with BPRS. Sleep disturbances were highly prevalent in psychiatric patients with significant correlation to illness duration but not with sociodemographic variables. The most common psychiatric diagnosis found was anxiety disorder, and most common PSQI component affected was subjective sleep quality and daytime dysfunction (mean: 1.5, standard deviation: 0.67). Conclusion: Sleep disruption is highly prevalent in psychiatric patients, with a significant positive link to illness duration. Sleep quality and daytime dysfunction were the most common sleep disturbances. These findings suggest integrating comprehensive sleep evaluation into psychiatric care protocols to improve patient outcomes.