This post isn't to talk about the wonders of good sleep. You know how a good nights sleep can do wonders. This post is spotting one of the earliest signs something is wrong with someone's mental health. Asking how much they've slept, how well they felt rested relative to the hours spent sleeping, and overall quality of sleep can give me a lot of clues as to what goes on in someone's head.
If someone says they felt energized despite only spending less than 3 hours and they've been having this type of sleeping pattern for a couple of days, I immediately think they're on their manic phase. Provided they aren't on drugs that give some high or other stimulants of course.
If someone says they get less sleep or more sleep but still feel less energy waking up, I think of depression. Provided drugs that cause people to sleep more are ruled out. It's an automated way of thinking, like an algorithm.
If someone says they can't sleep, ask what the cause of that disturbance, for most people with anxiety, they either get worked up about the imagined scenarios. For people that have lost some sense of reality or having problems processing their hallucinations, it might be the images or voices preventing them from getting some rest at night.
Or it could just be as simple as using your smartphone when you're supposed to be practicing good sleep hygiene.
How much have you slept? do you feel rested? do you feel irritable lately? when do you sleep? what keeps you up at night? and all questions related to how people sleep.
Asking about people's sleeping pattern is the most benign and least intrusive opening yet it already gives you plenty of information and even more open ended answers to what's going on with that person.
I have yet to encounter any patient that they themselves haven't noticed or folks noticed about their disturbed sleeping pattern. If there was a symptom that unanimously combines the common mental health problem, it's that people with sleeping problems have some other stuff going on in their heads.
Remember, sleeplessness is a symptom, an effect, not the cause. You can't sleep because you're restless, you're restless because you can't sleep. You are anxious because you can't sleep, you can't sleep because you are anxious. It can be this or other stuff but usually most mental problems echo a disturbed sleeping pattern. It may appear like a cycle by itself but usually there's a trigger to initiate this cycle. A life event, or some prodromal symptom that people took for granted.
That's why one of the questions I ask on follow ups is how was their sleep these days? if there is a relief in symptoms, then most of the other troubling symptoms eventually mellow down. The drugs are working and now there's more room to do psychotherapy. You can't reason out with a disturbed mind. It's not something like, "snap out of it" or "cheer up", you need to condition the mind to be at ease.
A little bit on insight for yourself, if you have poor sleep hygiene, you might consider getting yourself checked up or reexamine what's bothering you mentally and process it.
Thanks for your time.