Mental Health and Sleep.

Does it take long to drift off to sleep, no matter how tired you are?

Do you land up thinking of all the things you didn’t do that day and what you need to do tomorrow?

Having trouble sleeping can mean you:

Take a long time to fall asleep.

Wake up many times in the night.

Wake up early and are unable to get back to sleep.

Wake up tired.

Feel very sleepy during the day.

Often, being unable to sleep becomes a habit. Some people worry about not sleeping even before they get into bed. This may make it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep.

How much sleep are you getting?

And HOW DOES IT AFFECT MENTAL HEALTH?

When you don't get the much needed hours of quality sleep, it can heavily influence your outlook on life, energy level, motivation, and emotions. Good quality sleep is more important than the duration.

Just as poor sleep increases the risk for depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions, if you have a mental health condition it can cause sleep problems.

Sleep and mental health are closely connected. Sleep deprivation affects your psychological state. If you want to feel your best, stay healthy, and perform up to your potential, quality sleep is a necessity, not a luxury.

More than 70 types of sleep disorders exist.

The most common problems are insomnia (difficulty falling or staying asleep), obstructive sleep apnea (disordered breathing that causes multiple awakenings), various movement syndromes (unpleasant sensations that prompt night fidgeting), and narcolepsy (extreme sleepiness or falling asleep) suddenly during the day.

Some of the signs and symptoms of sleep disorders include:

Excessive daytime sleepiness,

difficulty in concentrating,

feeling irritable,

reacting slowly,

looking tired,

irregular breathing or

increased movement during sleep,

irregular sleep and wake cycle and difficulty falling asleep.

Regularly checking emails or messages, the regular use of social media before going to bed, and the constant switched-on status causes stress. The two major cause for poor sleep are stress (27%) and anxiety (26%), topping other late-night concerns such as family worries, money worries and work stress.

While these are worrying trends, the good news is that there are ways to treat insomnia and better manage stress. Taking steps to address these problems can have positive impacts on mood and sleep.

One can still learn to sleep better by tracking symptoms and sleep patterns, and then making healthy changes to daytime habits and bedtime routine. Seeking professional help can help identify the underlying causes and find ways to improve sleep and quality of life.

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