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Like food or water, sleep is crucial to human health, yet many people downplay its significance in mental health. Sleep wellness, good quality sleep, and a particular sleep schedule are of the utmost importance if a person seeks sound mental and physical health.
This blog aims to delve more in-depth into the subject by assessing the relationship between sleep wellness and mental health, what causes a good night’s sleep, and how people can improve their sleep cycles for better mental health.
What is Sleep Wellness?
Sleep wellness can be defined as the ability to sleep enough and good enough, so much so that proper recovery and restoration can occur across the physical, emotional, and mental aspects. To be more precise, it encompasses three vital elements.
- Timing – Getting the Ideal Duration of Sleep (Between 7 to 9 hours for adults).
- Quality – Uninterrupted Sleep with Ideal Rest.
- Routine – Consistency in the Sleep Cycle.
Good sleep wellness enables the brain to relax, the body to heal, and, most importantly, the body to be ready for the day.
Why do sleep and Mental Health go Hand in Hand?
There is a consistent relationship between sleep and mental well-being. The brain’s emotional stability can be maintained by ensuring good sleep wellness, whereas a lack of sleep can worsen a person’s mental condition.
- The Effect of Sleep Deprivation on the Brain
Sleeping well is essential, as anything less than it causes your brain trouble performing its essential functions.
As this condition worsens, you may begin to feel some adverse side effects, including difficulty focusing and concentrating, an inability to make decisions, and even memory loss. It will also negatively affect your mood by making you irritable or anxious.
2. Mental Health Issues Along With Sleep Problems
- Anxiety: Poor sleep and anxiety are positively correlated; poor or restless night sleep tends to aggravate anxiety for a person.
- Depression: Depression can occur in people who struggle with insomnia as well as in people who tend to oversleep. Good sleep and sleep techniques can reduce such problems.
- Stress: Poor sleeping patterns might make stress more difficult to bear, leading to a rise in cortisol, which in turn increases stress levels.
3. Benefits of Sleeping Well
Sleep has many benefits, such as improving cognitive functions, elevating mood, and increasing energy levels. It also tends to lower stress levels, improve mood, and assist in making good choices.
Importance of Sleep Wellness for Improving Mental Health Conditions
- It helps with reducing anxiety.
After a good night’s sleep, nerves feel more soothed, and anxiety is reduced, which allows a person to feel more at peace.
- Assists with Elevation of Mood
With sleep wellness, one of the key brain chemicals, serotonin, has the opportunity to improve. This will enhance one’s mood and allow positivity to stay present.
- Enhances Focus and Decision Making
Sleep is crucial for better focus and retention, as it allows the brain to consolidate and moderate information.
- Helps in Building Resilience
When people have had sufficient sleep, they tend to have stronger coping mechanisms and are more likely to recover from distressing events.
- Assists with One’s Well-Being
By getting enough sleep, the body is able to repair itself which enhances not only physical but also mental strength.
Primary Factors Preventing People from Getting Rem Sleep
Sleep wellness is often prioritized, but people still need quality sleep. Why? Well, there are many factors like:
- Stress and Anxiety
This is the prime reason that people are not able to sleep: they have unfinished work or are worried about something.
2. Worked up Sleeping Pattern
Another reason that working men might not find peace is that they have trouble getting up early or staying up late because of work, which disrupts their bodily rhythms.
3. Life on the screen
Unsurprisingly, our daily lives revolve around phones or laptops, not to mention the amount of blue light they emit, which causes Melatonin production(our Go-to sleep hormone) to go haywire.
4. Lack of Comfort
It goes without saying that a dark, calm, and comfortable environment is a must for sleeping, and if you don’t have that, it might be harder.
5. Bad Lifestyle
Using Caffeine or drinking a heavy meal or alcohol before sleep can leave you disrupted.
Improving Your Sleep Patterns
Although many times sleep wellness swims in the back seat, it can easily be achieved by implementing some of the following, which are less time-consuming and effective:
- Be Consistent With the Sleeping Times
Try to wake up and sleep at the same time, even on weekends and public holidays. This way, the internal body clock can be controlled.
2. Picking up a Book Before BedTime:
Switch to reading rather than scrolling on the phone or laptop 45 minutes before bed to help relax the mind from the overwhelming amount of blue light emitted from the devices.
3. Turn off your Phone 30 mins Before Sleeping:
Try implementing a blackout curtain to avoid light disruption during the night. It would be rather confusing to have the body produce sleep hormones but not sleep.
If you’re using screens or monitors, make sure to wear blue light glasses or turn on the blue light filter.
4. Make Your Bedroom Ready For Sleep
It is advisable to keep your bedroom as dark and quiet as possible. White noise machines and light-blocking curtains can help you achieve this.
5. Watch What You Eat
Avoiding meals and heavy eating, coffee, and cigarettes in the evening might be best. Search for lighter snacks when hunger pangs arise.
6. Get Regular Exercise
Exercising on a regular basis promotes sleep wellness, but try not to overdo the physical exercise before you sleep.
7. Take Care of Problems
Attempt to include breathing practices, yoga, or writing in a journal in the evening to help put your mind to rest before sleeping.
Some Indications That You Are Not Getting Enough Sleep
In case you have tried different forms of increasing your sleep wellness but with little to no success, consider getting help. It would help if you looked out for symptoms including but not limited to:
- Most nights, it is hard to fall or stay asleep.
- During the day, the person feels tired and irritable.
- The person snores loudly or wakes up short of breath.
Reach out to a physician or sleep specialist to address any issues, such as sleep apnea or insomnia, that could be causing you to lose out on sleep.
Summary
If you wish to maintain solid mental health, sleep wellness should be a top priority. Without good sleep, the brain and body cannot function optimally.
Inadequate sleep can lead to psychological issues such as anxiety, depression and stress. On the flip side, sound sleep helps an individual become more focused and emotionally balanced, enhancing resilience.
Optimizing sleep wellness is possible by introducing and sustaining small changes in your sleep patterns. Always put sleep first. It is the easiest and most effective way to take care of your mind.
