You know how it feels when you don’t get enough sleep – your muscles ache, your eyelids droop and your whole body is simply exhausted. But did you know that your mental and emotional health are also affected by the amount of Zs you get at night? Read on to discover how sleep affects your mind and mood – and what you can do to get the rest you need.
Why Sleep’s So Important
According to the Sleep Foundation, poor sleep has been linked to depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and other mental, emotional and behavioral issues. Doctors and scientists are still trying to find out all the reasons why. For example, we know that proper sleep helps the brain process emotional information and evaluate and remember thoughts and memories. With too little sleep, the brain might not be able to do these important jobs well enough. Obviously mental, emotional and behavioral health are complex issues affected by many different things – but it certainly appears that better sleep can improve a person’s well-being in these areas.
Tips To Help You Sleep Better
Since our minds and bodies need proper sleep – seven or more hours a night for adults according to the CDC – here are some tips to help you get your Zs:
- Try to have a set bedtime and keep yourself to a routine sleep schedule.
- Find ways to wind-down – including using relaxation techniques – as bedtime approaches.
- Avoid caffeine, alcohol and tobacco in the evening.
- An hour before bedtime, dim your lights and put away your electronic devices.
- Block out any excess light and sound.
- Make sure your mattress, pillows and bedding are comfy and clean.
Sometimes figuring out your new sleep routines takes trial and error. See what works for you – and start your journey today to better nightly rest, more refreshed mornings, and a healthier mind, body and spirit.
Find more help and information in these resources from Hally® health:
- Listen to our Hally Healthcast episode on Sleep and Health – Exploring Five Myths.
- And also our episode on Mental Health and Healthcare.
- Resources for dealing with depression.
- More information about mental health, support, hospitalization and helplines.
And check out these links for more information on sleep and mental well-being:
- Explore these tips to help you sleep better, from our friends at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System.
- Take this short quiz to test your knowledge about healthy sleep. Courtesy of our partners at FirstHealth of the Carolinas.
- Check out this informative podcast about sleep and mental health from Riverside Healthcare.
- Learn more about how lack of sleep can affect your mental – and physical – health in this article from Reid Health.
- Work nights? Here are some sleep tips just for you, from Memorial Health.