Shodh Prabha: A Multidisciplinary Journal

Anxiety, Depression and Sleep Quality Among Young Adults in Urban Areas

Mental health issues are emerging as a growing public health issue for young adults, especially in urban areas where academic stress, career insecurity, computer/device usage, social isolation, and environmental factors impact mental health. The interrelationship of anxiety, depression and sleep quality in youth in urban environments is explored. The paper is based on a review of the latest scholarly literature and secondary data that have been verified with sources from the global and Government level such as the World Health Organization, estimates on Global Burden of Disease, National Mental Health Survey of India, NCRB, CDC/NCHS and NHS England. All reviewed evidence supports a strong association between anxiety and depression and poor sleep quality, and sleep disturbance can be a symptom as well as a risk factor for psychological distress. Competitive lifestyles, late night use of digital media, commuting stress, noise and pollution, and high living costs, and less social support are particularly harmful to urban young adults. The evidence regarding mental morbidity shows higher prevalence in urban-metro areas and sleep quality is under studied in the national mental health research evidence in India. The paper emphasizes the importance of sleep not just as an outcome of anxiety and depression, but as a key behavioural and socio-demographic marker of young people's mental health. It calls for comprehensive screening, early counselling, education on sleep hygiene, responsible digital media use and youth mental health-friendly interventions in urban institutions and in the workplace. Incorporating anxiety, depression and sleep quality into a single analytical framework for the context of urban young adults, the paper adds to the existing literature.