How much sleep do you get every night? Do you wish you could get more? Do you lay in bed at night thinking about how tired you are and how much more productive you’d be if only you got more sleep? Well, there are plenty of reasons why getting more sleep will help improve your mental health, even if it doesn’t make you an expert on foreign policy or fix your chronic lateness problem. Here are eight ways that sleep affects your mental health, so that the next time you hit the hay, it really might be the best investment of time possible.
1.Depression
Depression is a serious condition, affecting millions of people worldwide. A person suffering from depression may experience feelings of intense sadness, anxiety, hopelessness and physical pain. Depression can also lead to sleeplessness and fatigue. Our body needs sufficient amounts of sleep for our brain to detoxify chemicals and fight against depression. So getting adequate sleep will help us be in a good mood and ward off mental illness or stress-related conditions.
2.Anxiety
Feeling anxious can make people feel on edge and unsafe. While worrying may seem like a natural reaction to stress, anxiety can actually be detrimental to health. Worrying is often associated with a greater likelihood of developing depression and increased overall risk of mortality. A good night’s sleep, however, can help mitigate these effects by stabilizing hormones that are stimulated when we’re awake.
3.Weight Control
If you are overweight, losing just 5 percent of your body weight can make a major difference in your health. One study found that people who were overweight and had sleep apnea lost almost three times as much weight when they started using CPAP therapy compared to those who used a sham machine at night. Sleep is important for better energy control, which we all need to improve our health. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle will help reduce your risks of serious illnesses and improve your overall quality of life.
4.Brain Function
If you want to keep your brain healthy as you age, a good night’s sleep is important. Recent research suggests that sleep impacts how well different parts of your brain communicate with each other. When you sleep, your brain moves through four stages—stages 3 and 4 are considered deep sleep (or slow-wave sleep), when heart rate and breathing slow down, muscles relax, body temperature drops, and blood pressure falls.
5.Heart Diseases
The cardiovascular benefits of sleep are significant. In fact, according to a 2013 study by researchers at UC Berkeley and Stanford University, chronic sleep deprivation is linked to obesity. The researchers found that for every extra hour of sleep individuals were able to accumulate over five years, they had a three percent reduction in their risk of developing heart disease. Other studies have shown that people who sleep fewer than six hours per night on average have significantly higher blood pressure and blood sugar levels than those who get seven or more hours per night.
6.Stress Relief
Those who sleep well find relief from stress. Those who experience anxiety, depression, and other mental disorders are often sleep-deprived. The exact reason for these links isn’t clear, but stress has been shown to disrupt healthy sleeping patterns and in some cases cause insomnia. In order to recover from these conditions and have a healthy lifestyle, it’s important to prioritize restful sleep.
7.Physical Fitness
The importance of physical fitness and a healthy lifestyle for children can not be stressed enough. There are several important reasons why your child needs to maintain a good level of physical fitness: it will help them feel confident, improve their self-esteem, encourage better decision making skills, strengthen their immune system and help them maintain a healthy body weight. These benefits all lead to a healthier mental state. Although some studies have shown that there is no relationship between sleep and physical fitness in adults, research has proven that these two things are closely related in children. When children do not get adequate sleep they may become less active during school time which leads to poor concentration and an inability to perform well academically or physically.
8.Life Satisfaction
You know you’re getting a good night’s sleep when you wake up feeling refreshed and in high spirits. Studies have shown that people who are chronically sleep-deprived are more prone to bouts of sadness, anger, and irritability than their well-rested counterparts. Keep your mental health (and physical health) in tip-top shape by catching up on your ZZZZs.
