Reducing Suicidality Through Insomnia Treatment: Critical Next Steps in Suicide Prevention

• Published in: The American journal of psychiatry Vol. 176; no. 11; pp. 897 - 899
• Main Authors: Hamilton, Jessica L, Buysse, Daniel J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Psychiatric Association 01.11.2019
• Subjects: Clinical trials; Humans; Insomnia; Mental depression; Risk Factors; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders; Suicidal Ideation; Suicide; Suicide, Attempted; Suicides & suicide attempts; Suicide; Insomnia; Sleep
• ISSN: 0002-953X; 1535-7228
• DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.19080888

Suicide is a major public health concern. Insomnia offers promise as a risk factor for suicide and suicidality because it is time varying, proximal, and modifiable. Growing evidence suggests that insomnia is associated with suicide and suicidality independent of well-established risk factors for suicide, such as depression and hopelessness. Here, Hamilton and Buysse talk about the rationale for targeting sleep in relation to suicidal ideation, the pros and cons of using zolpidem, and the importance of conducting additional research examining the effects of other sleep-promoting agents on suicidal ideation in depression, as well as in other psychiatric illnesses. They cite a randomized clinical trial by W. V. McCall et al which assessed the effects of treating insomnia on suicidal ideation. They suggest that the study does not provide all of the answers for using sleep treatments to reduce suicidality, but it provides an important methodological step and opens the door for future randomized controlled trials.