Insomnia and Anxiety During the Perinatal Period

The perinatal period is a well-known time of elevated vulnerability to experiencing anxiety. As many as one in five perinatal individuals will meet diagnostic criteria for an anxiety disorder during pregnancy and up to 12 months postpartum. The perinatal period is also a vulnerable period for experiencing insomnia, with over half of perinatal individuals reporting poor sleep quality. Research suggests that insomnia symptoms can contribute to the development or worsening of anxiety symptoms, as insomnia predicts elevated anxiety across pregnancy and the postpartum. Conversely, anxiety symptoms, such as excessive worry, can disrupt sleep and increase the likelihood of developing insomnia, highlighting the complex, bidirectional relationship between sleep and anxiety during this period. Understanding this bidirectional interplay is essential for improving early anxiety and insomnia symptom detection and developing targeted interventions.