Sleep in Different Contexts: The Perspectives of European Psychology

Event-EPA25_Madrid

 

April 2025— EFPA was happy to participate in the EPA-EAN-ESRS-EFPA Joint symposium on “The Power of Sleep in Brain and Mental Health” at the European Congress of Psychiatry hosted by the European Psychiatric Association (EPA) in Madrid.

EFPA’s contribution was a collaborative project between EFPA’s Working Groups on the topic of Sleep in Different Contexts: The Perspectives of European Psychology. The project intersected EFPA’s 7 mental health priorities with the specialist topic of each working group with a focus on how sleep can best be understood and supported in that particular context.

The event featured helpful discussion between a range of professions, with some high level priorities including:

  • Recognition of the many determinants of sleep health
  • Increased interdisciplinary collaboration with regard to sleep research, practice, education and policy work
  • A continued awareness of shifting contexts including the role of digitalisation

Below is a summary of some of the key points made by each group:

1. Crisis, Disaster and Trauma Psychology

  • Focus on how crises (e.g. pandemics) affect sleep.
  • Key themes: social isolation, financial adversity.
  • Sleep disturbances seen as both a result and symptom of trauma.
  • Based on research by Simonelli et al.
  • Contributions from EFPA’s Standing Committee on Crisis, Disaster and Trauma Psychology.

2. Psychology and Climate Change

  • Negative emotions linked to climate change are associated with insomnia and poor mental health.
  • Contributions from EFPA Expert Reference Group for Psychology and Climate Change.

3. Clinical Neuropsychology

  • Explores many dimensions:
    • European working time laws and light exposure.
    • Night/shift work implications.
    • Tech use (e.g., sleep apps).
    • Effects of sleep on cognition/emotion.
    • Sleep in coma patients and traumatic brain injury.
    • Sleep disorders (e.g., apnea) and public education.
  • Contributions from EFPA Standing Committee on Clinical Neuropsychology.

4. Psychology in Health

  • Sleep interlinked with emotions and cognition.
  • Development of “sleep health” as a concept.
  • Non-pharmacological sleep therapies for older adults.
  • Importance of sleep characteristics in infant cognitive development.
  • Contributions from EFPA Standing Committee on Psychology in Health.

5. Psychology and Ageing

  • Self-reported sleep quality has a stronger correlation with quality of life (QoL) than objective measures.
  • Related to physical/mental health, social relationships, environment.
  • Emphasis on planning interventions to improve QoL in older adults.
  • Contributions from EFPA Standing Committee on Ageing.

6. Psychology and Assessment

  • Sleep is a significant factor in assessing cognitive functioning in mental health.
  • European research looks at cultural differences in sleep expectations.
  • Modern assessments include both objective (e.g., actigraphy) and subjective (e.g., lived experience) data.
  • Concerns about dataset diversity (e.g., over-representation of white participants).
  • Contributions from EFPA Board of Assessment.

7. Community Psychology

  • Multiple subtopics explored:
    • Sleep as an indicator of structural inequalities in health, housing, employment, and discrimination.
    • Sleep disruptions from socioeconomic instability, e.g., energy shortages, urban noise.
    • Vulnerable populations (minorities, refugees, homeless) suffer chronic sleep deprivation due to systemic exclusion.
    • Impact of digitalisation, with unequal access to sleep-supporting tech and issues like screen overuse.
    • Policy recommendations: integrate sleep into public health, urban planning, labour laws, and digital inclusion strategies.
  • Strong call for systemic, interdisciplinary, and community-based responses.
  • Contributions from EFPA Standing Committee on Community Psychology.