Most people already know that sleep is a huge factor in our lives, after all, we usually feel refreshed after getting a good night of sleep, and when we don’t, we feel moody and distracted. Even though we all have a general idea of the importance of sleep, we unfortunately don’t give it the credit it deserves. The truth is, in our busy week, we all feel as if we don’t have enough time to do all of our tasks, and our sleep is usually the first thing we take out. Most of the time the importance of sleep in our lives is underestimated, but it is important to review how our body is affected by how many hours of sleep we have.
How it Affects Your Mental Health
We all know that sleep is a huge factor when it comes to mental health, most people who suffer from depression and anxiety have serious sleep issues. When it comes to depression, poor sleep habits can impact the development of depression and vice versa, depression might contribute to the development of sleep issues. Some of the most common sleep problems related to depression are insomnia (the persistent difficulty with sleep initiation, duration, consolidation, or quality) and hypersomnia (excessive time spent sleeping). Fortunately, patients who are being treated for depression are able to improve the quality of their sleep.
Similarly, when talking about anxiety, sleep is also a factor that is closely related to this condition. Insomnia, a common sleep deprivation, is found among people with anxiety. The problem is, that people tend to worry or overthink their problems in bed, which makes it harder for them to sleep. Sleep hyperarousal, when a person gets into a state of alertness as a result of thinking about their trauma often caused by worrying, is the main problem people with anxiety go through when trying to sleep and they are much more likely to face serious sleeping problems.
Mood
You might not suffer from the conditions listed above, but you definitely have felt how sleep has affected you. In reality, sleep has a huge impact on our mood as well. At some point, when we don’t get enough sleep, we either feel stressed, irritable, distracted, and unable to capture enough information. Research shows people who only have around 4.5 of sleep per night for one week feel more stressed and mentally exhausted. And when those same people were put to normal hours of sleep, their moods and disposition increased tremendously.
The same thing works for how mood affects your sleep. Feeling more frustrated, highly stressed, and angry can possibly interfere with your night of sleep. Anger and frustration can increase your agitation and alertness which makes it much harder to sleep. People who are highly stressed constantly report having more sleep problems.
Safety
Sleep is an added factor when it comes to your safety. Whether it is in your workspace, driving, or any other type of environment. Lack of sleep can decrease your level of alertness and attention through lapses, increase slow responses, and wake-state instability. Attention lapses are the main reason for cognitive impairment due to lack of sleep. Attention lapses are also called micro sleeping, which are short periods of time in which you will fall asleep for a few to several seconds without realizing it, and they can be extremely dangerous while driving, consequently making you more vulnerable to small and even more serious injuries.
Studies have shown that staying awake for more than 17 to 24 hours can impact your performance more than a blood alcohol level of 0.5 percent to even 0.10 percent, which is above the legal limit for alcohol intoxication in the United States. This means that staying awake for too long can affect you in the same way as drinking too much alcohol. This level of cognitive impairment can drastically slow down your reaction time and even your coordination and judgment, especially while driving.
Others
That goes without mentioning that sleep can affect your body aside from mental health issues. In fact, lack of proper sleep can contribute to a series of other medical complications.
- Cardiovascular system – sleep affects the process that keeps your blood vessels and heart healthy as it controls your blood sugar, blood pressure, and inflammation levels. Therefore, significant sleep loss can contribute to hypertension, stroke, coronary heart disease, and irregular heartbeat
- Digestive system – as sleep controls the levels of two important hormones, leptin, and ghrelin (which controls the feelings of hunger and fullness), lack of sleep can increase the risk of obesity. Also, it causes your body to release less insulin after you eat, which helps to reduce your blood sugar (glucose) level.
- Immune system – during your sleep, your body releases antibodies and other substances to fight infections, bacteria, and viruses. If you lack proper hours of sleep, your body might not be able to properly build up its forces, which will eventually take longer to recover from certain illnesses.
How to have good sleeping habits
Now that all of the topics are covered, let’s analyze ways to develop good sleeping habits.
In order for you to know the proper amount of sleep you need, it is important to analyze both your age and your preferences in terms of how and when you feel more productive during the day. Some people feel more productive during the day, while others feel more productive at night, it all depends on your internal biological clock, which is why every person has their own sleep cycle. The majority of people need around 8 hours of sleep in their routine, however, that number might vary depending on age. Younger people (from newborns to adolescents) might need more hours of sleep than an adult, and older people might not require as much sleep to obtain a healthy cycle.
Although your sleep cycle might be different than others according to your needs, there are a few general things that will contribute to a healthier cycle such as:
- Having a regular sleep routine
- Avoiding caffeine and other substances that might interfere with your sleep cycle
- Avoiding the use of electronic devices at around 2 hours before your bedtime
- Exercising regularly
- Drinking enough water and having a healthy diet
Remember, sleep is essential to better functioning during the day, so make it a priority in your routine!
Sources:
- The Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School, sleep and health – https://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/need-sleep/whats-in-it-for-you/health
- The Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School, healthy sleep: Benefits of Sleep – https://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep
- Harvard Health Publishing at Harvard Medical School, Sleep deprivation can affect your mental health – https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/sleep-and-mental-health
- Mind.org, How to cope with sleep problems – https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/sleep-problems/about-sleep-and-mental-health/
- Sleepfoundation.org, Mental Health and sleep – https://www.sleepfoundation.org/mental-health
- Sleepfoundation.org, Excessive Sleepiness and Workplace Accidents – https://www.sleepfoundation.org/excessive-sleepiness/workplace-accidents
- Healthline.com, The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Your Body – https://www.healthline.com/health/sleep-deprivation/effects-on-body
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Sleep: An Important Health and Safety Concern at Work – https://www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/initiatives/resource-center/pdf/WHRC-Brief-Sleep-508.pdf
- Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Sleep and Sleep Disorders: Drowsy Driving – https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/about_sleep/drowsy_driving.html#:~:text=Your%20body%20needs%20adequate%20sleep,is%20known%20as%20cognitive%20impairment.
- Alhola, P., & Polo-Kantola, P. (2007). Sleep deprivation: Impact on cognitive performance. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 3(5), 553-567. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2656292/
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency – https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/sleep-deprivation-and-deficiency