The Yazidi community endured an unprecedented genocide by the Islamic State (ISIS) in August 2014, resulting in mass killings, kinocide, abductions, ongoing disappearances, and sexual enslavement. The intense trauma led to high prevalence rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and profound sleep disturbances. This comprehensive article integrates epidemiological data, neurobiological mechanisms, and clinical case reports to elucidate sleep disorders among Yazidi survivors. We detail the historical context, transgenerational trauma, specific sleep-related pathologies (insomnia, nightmares, parasomnias, and disrupted circadian rhythms), neurobiological underpinnings, cultural factors, and evidence-based interventions (e.g., Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET); Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I)). Furthermore, we discuss the establishment and role of the Institute for Psychotherapy and Psychotraumatology (IPP) at the University of Duhok, outline barriers to care, and propose future research directions and policy recommendations.

Sleep and mental health are closely interconnected. Alterations in sleep patterns are frequent among patients with psychiatric disorders and can exacerbate symptom severity or interfere with treatment outcomes. Despite this, systematic sleep assessment is not consistently integrated into psychiatric practice. This review presents a comprehensive overview of the main questionnaires available to assess sleep and its disturbances in psychiatric populations. We propose a minimal sleep semiology framework that includes non-specific sleep complaints (satisfaction, non-restorative sleep), sleep symptoms (insomnia, hypersomnolence), sleep-related distress/impairments, specific sleep disorders (sleep-related breathing disorders, sleep-related movement disorders, parasomnias), sleep needs (chronotype, flexibility) and behaviors (duration, timing, regularity, hypnotic use). Generic questionnaires, such as the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the RU-SATED scale, provide a global view of sleep health, while disorder-specific instruments allow precise evaluation of particular dimensions. This review allows for the selection of the most appropriate tool for specific applications in both clinical and research settings. Integrating these questionnaires with patient history and environmental context enables a holistic approach, improving both diagnosis and management. Ultimately, combining these subjective measures with objective assessments while considering environmental, social, and behavioral factors facilitates the promotion of sleep health, thereby enhancing psychiatric care and potentially benefiting population-level mental health.

Sleep disorders are a frequent comorbidity in patients with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), from childhood through adulthood. These disturbances include sleep-related complaints such as insomnia symptoms and daytime sleepiness, as well as well-defined sleep pathologies such as sleep-disordered breathing, restless legs syndrome, and circadian rhythm disorders. These disturbances have a significant impact on cognition, emotional regulation, and patients' quality of life. Sleep disorders thus maintain a bidirectional relationship with ADHD: on the one hand, altered sleep can exacerbate ADHD symptoms, and on the other hand, ADHD also affects sleep regulation. Given these challenges, a precise characterization of sleep disorders - from a developmental perspective, spanning childhood to adulthood - is essential, particularly with regard to the timing of symptoms. Such an evaluation will in turn enable appropriate management of this comorbidity, using both pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches.

Dopaminergic medication used in disorders like Parkinson's disease (PD) and restless legs syndrome can cause impulsive-compulsive behaviour (ICB), often with strong negative effects on patients' quality of life. This narrative review presents translational evidence on iatrogenic ICB, taking findings from epidemiological, clinical, neuroimaging and preclinical studies into consideration. Epidemiological and clinical studies find dopamine agonists with high D2/3-selectivity to be most strongly linked to ICB. Their effect on ICB has often been shown to be dose-dependent, but the impact of combining different dopaminergic drugs or applying extended-release formulations is less clear. Intervention studies support tapering or replacing dopamine agonists for ICB reduction, whereas no efficacious pharmacotherapy has been identified for ICB treatment specifically. Adequate animal models for mimicking different types of ICB are available, and point, in line with human neuroimaging studies, towards an involvement of striatum and prefrontal cortex in iatrogenic ICB. Overall, complementary research designs have led to profound evidence regarding the occurrence of ICB in PD and establishing methods transferable to other, less-studied patient populations. A combined approach integrating insights from human studies and animal models could contribute to developing dopaminergic drugs with lower ICB risk but also specific pharmacotherapies for impulsivity or compulsivity in the future.

Sleep paralysis (SP) is a REM sleep parasomnia characterized by transient motor paralysis during sleep onset or awakening. It is a terrifying experience often accompanied by vivid hallucinations. Although it is classically linked to narcolepsy, isolated SP in healthy individuals offers a valuable model to investigate the interaction between REM sleep physiology and conscious awareness. In a sample of 210 adults from the Italian population, we examined the prevalence, phenomenology and cognitive-emotional landscape of SP. Importantly, this study provides preliminary evidence to integrate measures of interoception to investigate how body awareness might influence this experience. One out of four participants reported at least one episode of SP. The most common sensations echoed REM physiology, including the inability to move or speak, tingling and sealed eyelids. However, despite this paralysis, the mind conjured up vivid cognitive scenes and the felt presence of another being, as well as an overpowering fear of death. Contrary to earlier findings, SP was not tied to poorer sleep quality or chronic anxiety. Instead, it was associated with insomnia symptoms and hyper-attuned body awareness. Individuals experiencing SP showed greater interoceptive sensitivity, noticing subtle bodily cues and regulating attention and emotion through them. This convergence between sleep physiology and interoceptive awareness suggests that SP may emerge where the boundaries among body, sleep and consciousness become blurred, a dissociated state in which REM-related atonia coexists with preserved or re-emerging conscious awareness. These findings suggest potential avenues of interoception as a target for future investigations into parasomnias.

Sleep disturbances represent one of the most frequent and clinically significant comorbidities in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), affecting approximately 50-80% of individuals. Clinically, these disturbances encompass a broad spectrum of disorders, including insomnia, parasomnias, sleep-related movement disorders, and sleep-related breathing disorders, commonly presenting with prolonged sleep latency, frequent nocturnal awakenings, reduced total sleep time, and alterations in sleep architecture. Circadian rhythm dysregulation, abnormalities in neurotransmitter systems such as GABA and serotonin, and altered melatonin signaling have been consistently implicated. These processes may reflect underlying genetic and metabolic influences affecting circadian clock regulation and synaptic function. The management of sleep disturbances in ASD requires a comprehensive approach combining behavioral strategies, caregiver education, and sleep hygiene interventions, while pharmacological options, particularly melatonin, may be considered when non-pharmacological measures are insufficient. Understanding the multifactorial mechanisms underlying sleep disturbances in ASD is essential for improving early recognition and developing individualized therapeutic strategies. This review synthesizes current evidence on the prevalence, biological mechanisms, clinical manifestations, and management of sleep disturbances in ASD, providing an integrated perspective for both clinicians and researchers.