Invest in rest: Better sleep improves mental health

It’s time to address a neglected but crucial part of the overall health equation: sleep. Despite its strong association with both mental and physical health, this single foundational factor is missing from policy conversations.¹

Good sleep is not a luxury. It is a biological necessity, as vital to our overall health as diet and exercise. Yet it remains strikingly absent from public health strategies in most countries. Public health initiatives on sleep are severely lacking, funding is minimal, and specific campaigns focused on sleep health are nowhere to be seen.

Sleep and mental health: The overlooked link

Sleep is deeply intertwined with social and biological determinants of health. Despite overwhelming scientific evidence linking poor sleep to mental disorders and chronic diseases², public health strategies have been slow to respond.

The relationship between sleep and mental health is especially strong and equally underestimated. Research shows that over 50 percent of people diagnosed with depression also suffer from a sleep disorder³, and 75 percent of individuals with depression report insomnia symptoms.⁴ These aren’t mere correlations. Poor sleep doesn’t just accompany mental health issues, it often precedes them, worsens them and can make recovery far more difficult. In other words, treating sleep disorders isn’t just about improving rest, it can improve lives.

Not addressing sleep health as a regular part of preventive care management has a significant clinical, economic and social impact. Mental health does not exist in isolation. It is shaped by social factors like housing, education and employment. People in precarious jobs, shift workers or those with caregiving responsibilities often suffer from poor sleep and lack access to care or diagnosis.⁵

Schools and universities rarely teach about healthy sleep. Workplaces often reward overwork and all-nighters, and frontline healthcare workers—from primary care physicians (PCPs) and general practitioners (GPs) to therapists—are seldom trained to screen for sleep disorders as part of routine mental health care and health check-ups. That missed opportunity carries with it far-reaching consequences.

What can policymakers do?

We are at a turning point. Mental health needs to be part of a framework to integrate sleep health disorders into a broader approach. So, what can policymakers do?

• First, integrate sleep health into mental health strategies. This includes developing guidelines that promote early screening for sleep disorders in primary and mental health care.
• Second, raise public awareness. Many people do not know that chronic fatigue, mood swings or difficulty concentrating may be symptoms of a treatable sleep disorder. By integrating sleep education into public health campaigns in workplaces, schools and digital platforms, we can empower citizens to seek help early, before symptoms escalate.
• Third, improve access to screening and diagnosis, especially for under-detected conditions like OSA and insomnia. This requires both investment and political will, but the payoff is significant: fewer hospital admissions⁶, less workplace absenteeism⁷ and stronger mental health outcomes across the population.

Invest in rest

Sleep is one of the most cost-effective levers we have for improving public health. Addressing sleep disorders at scale could lead to fewer mental health problems, increased workplace productivity, fewer accidents⁸ and significant cost savings across health and social care systems. Simply put, it could help people stay in work, thrive in school and be more present with their families without the burden of chronic exhaustion or untreated illness.

This should be a wake-up call. As policymakers and payors consider their mental health agendas, they must recognize sleep as central to how we think, feel, work and live. It’s time to bring sleep out of the shadows and into the heart of overall health strategies. Because when we invest in rest, we invest in people, public health and in the future itself.