Sleep in first episode psychosis

Sleep problems are ubiquitous in people with psychosis, with up to 80% of patients reporting problems with sleep. However, at present it is unclear whether poor sleep at night is related to the daily occurrence or severity of psychotic symptoms the next day in patients with first episode psychosis. Clarifying this would help in the assessment and treatment of psychotic symptoms in the earliest phase of the disorder. The next logical step is to test for these relationships in a sample of individuals currently experiencing their first episode of psychosis. This will also give insight into different sleep-wake phenotypes upon the early stages of the disorder. Twenty patients with first episode psychosis will be recruited to take part in this study. They will complete a series of questionnaires and a clinical interview, and then go home with a wrist-worn activity tracker that will assess patterns of rest and activity for two weeks. Eight weeks later, they will repeat these procedures to assess for changes over time. Overall this study would help elucidate the role of sleep in the development of the early symptoms of psychosis, as well as evaluate the potential of sleep as an early assessment technique and therapeutic marker in patients experiencing psychosis.