The Impact of Sleep on Health and Wellbeing

Are you getting enough sleep? For many of us, the answer is no. Due to work, family, and other commitments, most of us are not getting the recommended 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night. In a society that increasingly values productivity, it has become commonplace to grab another coffee to help get us through the day and to dismiss the importance of sleep in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Many of us think we can get by with little sleep, bot recognising the toll it can take. Think about this: If one sleepless night can make you feel irritable and moody, imagine what a pattern of poor sleep is doing to you?!

Clinicians have traditionally viewed sleep problems as a symptom of a mental illness, but there is growing evidence supporting that poor sleep quality can also contribute to the development of new psychological disorders and hinder the ability to cope with existing disorders. An alarming statistic reported by the National Alliance on Mental Illness indicates that more than one half of insomnia cases are related to depression, anxiety, and psychological stress. This shouldn’t come as a surprise given that we spend one third of our lives asleep, thus reflecting the absolute necessity of sufficient sleep to sustain optimal mental health. In addition to the negative psychological effects, poor sleep quality can have long-term consequences on your physical health in the form of chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and obesity.

Operating off less sleep than recommended can hinder your ability to regulate your emotions, leaving you more prone to anger, irritability, stress, and mood swings, hence the phrase “waking up on the wrong side of the bed.” Not only can a lack of sleep make everything appear to be worse than it actually is, it can impede your cognitive functioning and performance, meaning you forget things, make silly mistakes, and think at a slower pace than usual. This is evident in a 2007 study which reported that participants tended to struggle to form new memories under conditions of sleep deprivation, indicating that a night of restful sleep is essential for preparing us for the day ahead. All of these consequences have the potential to snowball and affect important areas of your life, including professionally, academically, and socially.

Quality sleep can be likened to charging your phone battery after prolonged use. It has an important restorative function in ‘recharging’ the brain at the end of each day which is essential in fostering both mental and emotional resilience. The benefits of getting quality sleep are endless, from strengthening your immune functioning, to steadier glucose levels and sharper cognitive functioning. So, here are some tips to sleep better for your mental health:

Establish a regular sleep-wake cycle: Delaying sleep onset can cause profound changes in mood, cognitive function, motor activity, and energy. If you want to fix your sleep schedule, you must create one first! Choose a bedtime and wake-up time and stick to these times every day, even on weekends or days off. By following a regular schedule, your internal clock can develop a new routine and promote the natural drive to sleep.

Limit the use of stimulants near bedtime: This includes caffeine! The sleep-disruptive effects of caffeine on sleep and wake function are well-documented. It has been shown to be associated with disturbed sleep and day-time sleepiness. 

Regular daily exercise: Engaging in regular daily exercise can help you to have restful sleep. Just make sure that you’re not exercising not too late in the evening as this could create a stimulating effect.

Avoid electronic devices late at night: The blue light emitted from computers, smartphones, laptops, and so on can delay the release of sleep-inducing melatonin and increase alertness. Reading on a blue light-emitting device in the evening means it may take longer for you to fall asleep, plus, you will have less REM sleep (when dreams occur!) and will wake up feeling sleepier, even after eight hours of shuteye.

Be mindful of your food consumption intervals: Most nutritionists will tell you to wait about three hours between your last meal and bedtime. Your metabolism and circadian rhythm are closely linked. This means, when you eat and digest food, your internal clock knows that you’re awake which will delay the onset of sleep.

Create a wind-down routine: Too often, we’re rushing around, checking emails, or scrolling through social media right up until we get into bed. This keeps us energised and alert. Consider creating a gentle routine of dimming the lights, switching off all devices, preparing for the next day, brushing your teeth, write a to-do list for tomorrow, stretch with some calming yoga poses, settle into bed to read (a print book of course!), all before turning out the lights.

Therapy to manage worrying or anxious thoughts: Everybody has some degree of stress or anxiety in their lives and this is essential in keeping us motivated and helping us get things done! However, when your levels of stress, worry, or anxiety are excessive to the point where it’s interfering with your ability to get restful sleep, therapy with a mental health professional is a worthwhile and effective consideration.

As busy as life may get, it’s important to develop a good sleeping routine whilst keeping in mind that the quality of anything that you do during your waking hours goes down significantly the less sleep that you get. Make it a priority to get a good night’s sleep not just tonight, but every night. Your health depends on it!

References

Gangwisch, J. E. (2009). Epidemiological evidence for the links between sleep, circadian rhythms and metabolism. Obesity Reviews, 10(2), 37-45.

National Alliance on Mental Illness. (2020). Sleep disorders. Retrieved from https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Common-with-Mental-Illness/Sleep-Disorders

Roehrs, T., & Roth, T. (2008). Caffeine: Sleep and daytime sleepiness. The Sleep Medicine Reviews, 12, 153-162.