Sleep, Mental Health, and OT

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This episode is scheduled to be released on March 20, 2025.

Nearly one third of people experience sleep disturbances. 

And, about 23% of adults experience mental health illness. 

These high percentages mean that both sleep and mental health are global, public health challenges in their own right. 

However, emerging research suggests we should not think of these challenges separately. They are more intertwined than we realize. Sleep difficulties aren’t just a sign of mental health challenges, sleep problems can contribute to mental health problems. But, then the inverse is also true: when we improve a person’s sleep, we can improve their mental health.  

What this means for OT is profound:

This means sleep interventions are one of the most powerful tools we have to impact mental health. 

Today, we will zoom in on one diagnosis: anxiety. 

We’ll get deep into the biology of how sleep and anxiety are intertwined. And, the interventions (that are in your OT-wheel house) to improve both. 

To help us make sense of how profound the impact of sleep is on health—and, how potentially profound it would be for OT to tackle this essential ADL— we will welcome to the podcast Dr. Amanda Carroll, an OT sleep researcher, who also runs a sleep private practice in Montana. 

Primary Journal Article Explored

• Sleep and anxiety: From mechanisms to interventions

Supporting Research and Journal Articles

• A scoping review of sleep management as an occupational therapy intervention: Expanding a niche area of practice in mental health
• Improving sleep quality leads to better mental health: A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

Learning Objectives

• You will recognize occupation-based assessments OT can perform related to sleep. 
• You will be able to identify occupation-based interventions to improve sleep.

Agenda

Intro (5 minutes)

Breakdown and analysis of journal article (5 minutes)

Discussion on practical implications for OTs (55 minutes)

• How did you get interested in OT and sleep? 
• Can you tell me about your private practice and some of the research/other programs you’ve done?
• What were your impressions of this article?
• Do you have any stories of how OT has helped people with sleep?
• The science is a little overwhelming? When you talk about sleep to clients how do you talk about sleep? 
• What assessments can OTs leverage for sleep health?
• What can the generalist OT do to address sleep?
• Can you tell me more about the CBT-I training and how OTs can be involved? 
• What health tech devices have you seen being most helpful for sleep? (The article mentioned pink noise machines. And, I was curious about trackers.)
• How could OTs grow our role in sleep?

Target Audience/Educational Level

Our target audience is occupational therapy practitioners who are looking to learn about AI and Clinical Decision Support.  The educational level is introductory.

Financial and Non-financial Disclosures

It is the policy of OT Potential to disclose any financial and non-financial interest the provider or instructor may have in a product or service mentioned during an activity. This is to ensure that the audience is made aware of any bias of the speaker.

We here at OT Potential have no financial stake in this topic. 

Speakers

Dr. Amanda Carroll, MS, PhD

Dr. Amanda Carroll is the Research Director for the Rocky Mountain College OTD Program. She earned her Master of Science degree from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2012, and her PhD in Occupational Science also from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2021. She has practiced in both geriatrics and pediatrics for the past ten years in a variety of settings including travel therapy, skilled nursing, and home health. She is currently a member of AOTA and serves on the Research Committee for the Society for the Study of Occupation.

Her research interests center on supporting the successful aging of older U.S. military veterans, and better understanding the ways in which participation in occupation can serve as a protective factor that contributes to the health and well-being of older adults. Her dissertation study focused on exploring the relationships between military service, resilience, occupation and successful aging in older U.S. military veterans using mixed methods. She is excited to continue this line of research and help the OTD program at RMC continue to build an excellent research program that serves the state of Montana.

Dr. Carroll is from Jackonville, North Carolina, and is a proud Tarheel. Growing up in North Carolina, she has always been surrounded by military culture and many of her family members have and are still serving in the military. She enjoys cooking, reading historical novels, and spending all the time she can exploring the outdoors.

Sarah Lyon, OTR/L

Sarah’s passion is helping fellow OT practitioners translate evidence into daily practice. Sarah earned her BA in religion from St. Olaf College, then earned her master’s degree in occupational therapy from New York University in 2011.

Since then, she’s worked in numerous facilities, including a critical access hospital, an acute trauma hospital, and a state inpatient psychiatric hospital. Sarah is the founder/owner of OT Potential. Read more about OT Potential here.

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