Sleep disorders and mental health are often interrelated. Which statement is true?

• A. Sleep disturbances have no relation to mood disorders
• B. Treating sleep problems worsens mood
• C. Sleep disturbances can both worsen and result from mental health disorders
• D. Sleep problems only affect physical health, not mood

Answer: (C)

Sleep and mental health influence each other in a two-way way. When sleep is disrupted, emotional regulation and mood can worsen—lack of sleep heightens irritability, reduces cognitive control, and increases stress responses—making depressive or anxious symptoms more likely to flare. At the same time, having a mental health condition often leads to sleep problems through mechanisms like ongoing arousal, rumination, medication effects, and disrupted circadian rhythms. Because sleep can both worsen mood and be caused by mood disorders, this statement reflects the true, bidirectional relationship. It’s not accurate to say there’s no relation, that treating sleep problems worsens mood, or that sleep problems only affect physical health; sleep affects mood just as mood affects sleep.