Sleep is Essential for Mental Health: Potential Role of Slow Oscillations

Sleep is a physiological process characterized by a crucial interaction between behavioural and neurobiological aspects, thereby directly influencing mental functionality. The present work aims at providing an overview of the structure, topological distribution, and functions of the sleep slow oscillation (< 1 Hz), and at attempting to unveil how the mechanisms underlying its properties are altered in several mental disorders.

Slow wave sleep and especially the sleep slow oscillation appear to regulate essential mechanisms at the basis of neuronal and synaptic health, such as an efficient functional connectivity, brain plasticity, memory consolidation, metabolic clearance, and sleep maintenance. Alterations of these functions can be observed at various levels in a wide range of mental disorders, ranging from insomnia to overt psychiatric disorders.

We propose a guidance for research and clinical practice related to the sleep slow oscillation, considering the lack of clinical emphasis on this wave and highlighting the potential benefits of its direct non-invasive modulation. In this framework, we propose that targeting insomnia would be crucial for mental health by regulating the sleep slow oscillation.