Getting enough sleep helps you feel more emotionally resilient and decreases symptoms of anxiety and depression. Too much sleep, on the other hand, is often correlated with health problems. They could affect your circadian rhythms, leading to irregular bedtimes or extended sleep periods. The ideal amount of sleep varies for each person, but most people benefit from seven to nine hours of sleep each night. 

Sleep and mental health have a complex relationship. Getting the optimal amount of sleep each night isn’t so simple when you have a mental health condition. When people don’t get enough sleep, their symptoms often feel worse.

In this article, we’ll talk about the relationship between sleep and mental health and list seven ways they affect each other.

How can sleep affect the state of my mental health?

In general, loss of sleep can undermine your emotional functioning, decrease positive moods and put you at higher risk for anxiety symptoms. Hyperarousal is a key factor in anxiety disorders that feeds on worry and fear and keeps you from getting restful sleep. Conversely, depression may lead to chronic tiredness and oversleeping, which can worsen your moods.

Sleep loss has a reciprocal relationship with many mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Essentially, these conditions can make it harder to get enough sleep, and lack of sleep makes symptoms worse. People who have PTSD may experience both hyperarousal and nightmares, both of which affect their ability to get enough sleep. People who have bipolar disorder feel a decreased need for sleep during manic or hypomanic episodes, leading to a “crash” when they’ll feel exhausted and need lots of sleep to recover. They may also oversleep during depressive episodes.

7 ways sleep could hinder (or help) the state of your mental health

Mental wellness isn’t a default state — it’s something we need to create deliberately and intentionally. Getting the right amount of sleep is important for everyone. It contributes to better moods, better executive functioning and better ability to manage your emotions.

The following are seven specific ways sleep can help or hinder the state of your mental health: 

• Lack of sleep contributes to poor mental health — Lack of sleep worsens mental health symptoms across the board. Insomnia may be a symptom of a mental health condition, and it often creates a spiral of worsening moods, emotional distress and poor sleep. 
• Oversleeping contributes to poor mental health — Likewise, oversleeping has a similar effect, especially in people who have depression. There is a limit on the amount of sleep that will be beneficial for you. Sleeping in or going to bed too early can make you feel more tired and more upset. While taking short naps, between 20-30 minutes, can be beneficial to some individuals, long or late-day naps can be counterproductive for people with insomnia or certain mental health conditions.
• Lack of sleep makes you cranky and achy — Even one night of poor sleep can put you in a bad mood and cause aches and pains. The amount of sleep that you get sets the tone for the rest of your day, for better or worse.
• Getting enough sleep helps you feel more emotionally resilient — When you’re feeling your best mentally and physically, you have more capacity to regulate your emotions. Feeling alert and well rested helps you show up as your best self, be more present and authentic in your relationships, and perform better in everything you do.
• Sticking to the same bedtime makes mornings easier — You know the expression “I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning”? There’s a lot of truth to it. Your mood first thing in the morning can either set you up for a great day or put you on edge. When you’re not well rested, you’re more likely to expect the worst and react in a defensive way.
• A regular circadian rhythm helps with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) — SAD makes it harder to adjust to more or less daylight when the seasons change. People who have this condition often suffer from insomnia or tend to oversleep, depending on where they live. They need to be especially diligent about maintaining consistent nighttime and morning routines.
• Keeping nighttime and morning routines is excellent self-care — Speaking of routines, everyone can benefit from self-care at the beginning and end of the day. Maybe you wash your face and have a cup of coffee to get ready to face the day. At night, you might dim the lights, stay away from bright screens, and do some gentle stretching or deep breathing to wind down. These activities help your nervous system make these transitions feeling safe and secure.

How can I improve my sleep quality for better mental health?

Sleep hygiene is especially important for people who have mental health conditions and those who are in treatment. Talking about your innermost thoughts and emotions all day can make your nervous system work hard to stay regulated. Ultimately, it should result in greater emotional resilience and lasting mental wellness. During weeks when you have treatment, however, it may take some focused effort to get the right amount of sleep so you can be alert and participate fully.

Here are some steps you can take to get more restful sleep:

• Try to stick to the same bedtime and set your morning alarm for the same time every day, even on weekends.
• Start your bedtime routine an hour before going to bed. Stay away from screens, change into your pajamas and do something to calm you down.
• Get up right when your alarm goes off instead of hitting snooze. Put your alarm on the other side of the room or set your coffee maker on a timer to make it easier on yourself.
• Step outside and get some direct sunlight first thing in the morning.
• Drink an herbal tea or use a lavender-scented lotion before bed to soothe your senses. 
• Talk with a psychotherapist or seek treatment for mental health conditions.
• For persistent insomnia or oversleeping, talk to your doctor or consider doing a sleep study.

At Lightfully, we provide tailored and holistic mental health treatments to fit your lifestyle. You’ll spend plenty of time learning about self-care practices and experimenting to see what works best for you. We help you build healthy habits in four areas to support lifelong mental wellness: thoughts, emotions, behaviors and relationships. Using our Precision Care Model (PCM), your treatment team of licensed clinical providers will work with you to create a treatment plan you feel good about. 

Do you have a mental health condition that’s keeping you up at night? Let’s talk about it. Contact us or reach out to our Admissions Concierge Team today.