Sleep includes one of the essential parts of life, and humans need at least eight hours of sleep each day to function properly throughout their waking hours. One in three adults suffers from chronic lack of sleep, which can result in a lack of self-discipline, inability to focus, and even depression.
Here are five ways how sleeping can improve your mental health:
Reducing Stress
Stress forms a significant factor in many health problems, such as heartburn, anxiety, and high blood pressure. Lack of sleep can cause stress by actually reducing the levels of serotonin (a hormone associated with mood) which causes your body to overproduce cortisol. Stress impacts your mental health and sleep significantly, so getting enough sleep will help reduce stress and improve your mental health.
Improving Memory
Lacks of enough sleep has been linked to impatience, irritable behavior, and poor performance in school. Poor sleep also affects the ability of your hippocampus (the part of your brain involved with memory) to remember things such as names and faces.
Boosting Mood
Depression can be a very debilitating illness, and people can become suicidal when they are not able to cope with their depression symptoms. Lack of sleep worsens depression by making you more irritable, anxious, and depressed, making it challenging to function optimally. Therefore, getting enough sleep will improve your overall mood and increase your ability to control your moods, which improves your mental health drastically.
Improving Concentration
Getting enough sleep can improve your grades and help you concentrate better, which is crucial for success in the workplace. People suffering from sleep apnea have been shown to have lower school grades than those without the condition. In addition, lack of sleep may lead to memory problems and difficulty remembering things which can be detrimental at work.
Reducing Risk of Heart Disease
Adults with insomnia are 43% more likely to experience a heart attack or stroke than those who do not experience any sleeping problems. Sleep apnoea is also associated with a 33% increased risk of heart disease compared to those with normal sleep. Getting adequate sleep minimizes the risk of heart disease and improves your overall mental health, which is essential for maintaining a healthy heart.
A good night’s sleep is often overlooked, focusing on eating healthy, exercising, and taking time for yourself. Again it’s important to note that although, in theory, there are solid links between mental health and sleep, it is not the only factor that affects your mental health but rather a combination of factors such as age, stress, mood, and other life circumstances.