Sleep quality and its relationship to mental health, physical health and health behaviours among young adults with serious mental illness enrolled in a lifestyle intervention trial

Aim: To characterize subjective sleep quality and examine its associations with mental health, physical health and health behaviours in a transdiagnostic sample of young adults with serious mental illness (SMI) enrolled in a lifestyle intervention trial.

Methods: Baseline data from a lifestyle intervention trial with young adults (ages 18-35 years) with SMI included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), mental health, physical health and health behaviour outcomes. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression were used in analyses.

Results: Of 150 participants, 76% were categorized with poor sleep quality. Depressive symptoms were significantly associated with sleep quality (β = .438, p < .001); however, no association was found with physical health and health behaviours.

Conclusions: Young adults with SMI enrolled in lifestyle interventions may benefit from treatment that addresses sleep as part of a comprehensive approach to health promotion with attention to the role of depressive symptoms in sleep quality.