The Benefits of Sleep for Mental Health

Benefits of Sleep for Your Mental Health

Sleep plays a vital role in your physical and mental health. During sleep, your brain consolidates memories and performs self-maintenance. It also allows your body time to repair the cells, balance hormones, and improve the immune system. Sleep can help decrease the risk of some chronic diseases and their complications.

Understanding how sleep helps your mental health can motivate you to prioritize rest and make positive changes that support your mind and body.

How Is Mental Health Related to Sleep?

Mental health and sleep have a bidirectional relationship. That is, mental health affects sleep, and sleep affects mental health.

Brain activity changes through the different stages of the sleep cycle. Sleep occurs in two primary stages: rapid eye movement (REM) and non-rapid eye movement (NREM). Almost 75% of sleep is spent in the NREM stage, while the remainder is spent in REM sleep.

NREM sleep is further subdivided into N1–3 stages depending on how deep the sleep is. Each stage of sleep is associated with the activation of different brainwaves. The brain is most highly active during REM sleep, which plays the biggest role in mental health, as this is when the brain processes emotional information.

Why Is Sleep So Important to Our Mental Health?

Sleep is your brain’s maintenance period. During sleep, your brain consolidates and solidifies memories and cleans up brain proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease, such as amyloids and tau proteins. Sleep plays a role in brain health and cognitive development, beginning in infancy and continuing throughout life. Research has shown that sleep affects next-day learning for memories, specifically those in the hippocampus region of the brain. Adequate sleep is also associated with normal growth and development, as well as helping the body fight infection. Additionally, adequate REM sleep is associated with improved learning, memory, and emotional well-being.

How Sleep Deprivation Impacts Mental Health

The exact mechanisms of how sleep deprivation affects mental health are an area of study, but studies consistently show a link. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommend at least 7 hours of sleep nightly.

Lack of sleep is associated with poor concentration, fatigue, memory problems, and increased irritability. Disruption to your sleep cycle is also associated with multiple mental health conditions, including:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Mania
• ADHD
• Schizophrenia
• Seasonal affective disorder

Sleep problems are also associated with an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

Adverse physical effects can also result from sleep deficiency, including an increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, obesity, and dementia. Even in middle age, poor sleep has been associated with an increased risk of dementia.

Sleep deprivation, even partial sleep deprivation, can increase the risk of mood changes. Increased stress, anger, and decreased mood are all consequences of sleep deprivation. Fortunately, studies have shown that restoration of sleep can improve mood.

Lastly, sleep deprivation studies show that people who are otherwise healthy have increased anxiety and depression symptoms after a period of sleep deprivation. In addition, people with underlying mental health disorders are more likely to have chronic problems with their sleep.

Ways To Improve Sleep and Mental Health

Poor sleep can have a detrimental effect on both your physical and mental health. Fortunately, there are strategies you can implement to work toward better sleep and improve your mental health.

Sleep Hygiene

Sleep hygiene is one of the first steps to improve your sleep. Some of the sleep habits that may be beneficial to your health include:

• Keeping a sleep schedule that includes going to bed and getting up at the same time
• Keeping your bedroom quiet and at a comfortable temperature
• Using your bedroom only for sleep (and sex)
• Turning off and avoiding electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bed
• Avoiding eating large meals before bedtime
• Avoiding alcohol before bedtime
• Avoiding caffeine after the morning
• Getting regular exercise
• Maintaining a healthy diet

Another option to improve your sleep is relaxation techniques. Breathing techniques may help with relaxation and sleep, and several options are available, including diaphragmatic breathing and square or counted breathing. Meditation, yoga, and progressive muscle relaxation are additional relaxation techniques that may help with sleep.

Healthy Diet

Many of the same techniques that affect sleep can also improve mental health. A healthy diet includes fruits, whole grains, lean meats, fish, nuts, low-fat dairy, vegetables, and healthy oils. These foods can improve brain function by boosting neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin, which have an important role in depression and anxiety symptoms. Research suggests that you can improve your mental health by improving levels of these neurotransmitters. A bad diet can negatively affect your brain health and mental health long-term, so it’s wise to limit foods that are high in fat, salt, and sugar. In addition, limiting highly processed foods may also be beneficial.

Exercise

Another lifestyle change that can improve mental health is regular exercise. Neurochemicals such as endorphins and endogenous opioids are produced in the brain during exercise, helping nerve cells grow and connect in the part of the brain responsible for regulating your mood. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends 150–300 minutes of moderate-intensity activity daily.

When To Seek Professional Help for Sleep or Mental Health

Sleep deprivation can have many significant effects on your physical and mental health. If you’re struggling to sleep despite sleep hygiene and lifestyle changes, it may be time to seek care from a professional. The same is true if you’re struggling with mental health.

A healthcare provider can provide you with medication to help you sleep or refer you for counseling for sleep therapy. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is one option for improving sleep, with a specific type of CBT specifically created to treat insomnia.

Taking positive steps to improve your sleep quality can improve your mental and physical health. If you’re struggling despite your attempts, reach out to your healthcare team for additional support.