Research on sleep disorders in patients with mental illness: A review of Indian studies.

Background: Many psychiatric disorders present with symptoms involving disordered sleep. The overlay of sleep and psychiatric disorders, though ubiquitous, remains less well understood. The evolution of diagnostic manuals for sleep and psychiatric disorders has also complicated our understanding of this intersection. Aim: Hence, this current review was conducted to explore the progress of Indian research on sleep disorders in patients with mental illness. Methods: In order to cover the wide spectrum of our scope of review, it was decided to conduct a narrative review. The search was conducted in PubMed and Google Scholar, and the recruited studies were all research work done in India on sleep disorders in patients with mental illness. Results: The review could identify substantial volume of research published from India on sleep disorders in patients with mental illness. The prominent sleep disorders that were addressed included restless legs syndrome, insomnia, hypersomnia, parasomnia, and sleep-related breathing disorders. The studies were mostly clinic-based and observational in nature. Conclusion: To conclude, the relationship of psychiatric disorders and sleep disorders has been in the forefront of research in the India. There is a high prevalence of sleep disorders in Indian patients with psychiatric ailments. However, it was found that the research attempts have been largely clustered toward certain selected disorders and there is a need for conducting more studies using more rigorous designs.