New Oxford research links changing sleep to psychosis

A new study has revealed greater sleep variability in people with the condition, offering insights into individual care approaches.

Researchers from Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Oxford’s Department of Psychiatry and Population Health, with colleagues at Harvard Medical School, analysed data from more than 1,300 participants across 18 international studies.

Dr Rosario Aronica, the study’s lead author and a consultant psychiatrist at Oxford Health, said: “Sleep alterations are common in people with psychosis, but looking at averages alone can mask important differences between these individuals.

“Our study found greater variability in several sleep measures across the psychosis spectrum, suggesting there may be distinct sleep profiles that warrant further investigation.

“As digital technologies make it easier to monitor sleep in everyday life, understanding these patterns could help inform future approaches to personalised mental healthcare.”

The study included individuals at clinical high risk of psychosis, those with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and healthy controls.

Researchers used wrist-worn sleep trackers to assess metrics such as total sleep time, time spent in bed, sleep efficiency, and periods of wakefulness during the night.

The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, revealed higher variability in time spent in bed, wakefulness after sleep onset, and sleep efficiency among those with psychosis compared to healthy individuals.

However, increased variability in total sleep time was observed only in people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

The research was funded by the Wellcome Trust and supported by the NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre.