When you think of mental health, images of patients in a laboratory or a clinical setting come to mind. However, for many people, mental Health is just as likely to occur during the day as it is at night. For some people, insomnia may exacerbate their symptoms of anxiety or depression. In order to help you better understand how sleep affects your mental health, we’ve compiled some important facts.
What is the Importance of Good Sleep?
The quality of your sleep is very important to your mental health. Poor sleep can either cause or result in a decline in your mental health. A lack of sleep can also be a clue that you may be having a negative psychological experience. Even though it’s not necessary to be awake during the day in order to suffer from anxiety or depression, being asleep for a majority of the day can be very harmful. Poor sleep can cause: Excessive daytime sleepiness Excessive difficulty in falling asleep Increased risk for anxiety or depression Increased concentration and performance during high-intensity tasks. Poor sleep can also result from: Increased stress levels Excessive workaholism Poor diet Family or social issues
How Sleep Affects Mental Health
According to experts, one of the main causes of poor sleep is stress. This can be brought on by a variety of things including family problems, financial problems, relationship issues, or even duties at work. Stress can cause our breathing to become accelerated, raise our heart rate, and increase our level of cortisol. As our levels of cortisol continue to rise, we break down faster. Chronic stress can lead to sleep disruption. This disruption can range from reduced sleep to insomnia.
Sleeping and Anxiety
Many people have a difficult time sleeping due to anxiety. Anxiety is a normal and expected feeling. However, worrying about things that don't affect you can be unhealthy and a cause of stress. Staying relaxed and feeling confident during sleep is key to good mental health. At the same time, worrying about things that don't affect you during the day is not healthy either. It’s actually proven that worrying about things that don’t affect you during the day can cause anxiety. This is because worrying about things that don’t affect you can make you feel as though you need to fix things.
What can you Do to Improve Your Sleep?
Getting enough sleep is important. However, it’s also important to recognize when you’re not getting enough sleep. Here are ways to improve your sleep:
- Establish a bedtime routine.
- Keep your bedroom dark when you’re trying to sleep.
- Drink a glass of water before bed.
- Avoid blue light from smartphones during sleep.
- Exercise at least 30 minutes before bedtime.
- Don’t eat anything after 8pm.
Conclusion
Getting a good night’s sleep is essential to health and well-being. It’s also been proven to be helpful for both your physical and mental health. If you’re not getting enough sleep, you could be putting yourself at a higher risk for anxiety or depression.
