The Link Between Sleep and Emotional Health: Tips for Better Rest

Freddy Murphy

Beyond the Blues

Sleep is not a luxury. Instead, it is a necessity. Proper sleep enables our bodies to undergo several crucial functions in our brain, such as regulating emotions and behaviors. Unfortunately, many neglects that better sleep leads to better health, but sleep is vital to one’s mental, physical, and emotional well-being. Proper sleep maintains cognitive skills, such as attention, learning, and memory. When we are sleep-deprived, it can be much more challenging to cope with minor inconveniences, tolerate stressful moments, and even perceive the world around us accurately. In this post, I’ll delve into the connection between sleep quality and emotional health, ultimately providing practical tips for improving sleep hygiene. 

How sleep affects emotional health:

• Mood Regulation: Adequate sleep helps maintain balanced mood states. With an improper night of rest, one may experience pervasive feelings of pessimism, actions out of impulse, and unnecessary hyperactivity or agitation. 

• Cognitive Function and Decision-Making: Sleep impacts thinking and responding to challenges. Sleep deprivation can impair focus, memory, and judgment, leading to a heightened sense of overwhelm and frustration in everyday situations.

• Mental Health Conditions: Sleep disorders and insufficient sleep are closely linked with mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. Moreover, poor sleep may contribute to the development of these conditions, while in others, they may worsen pre-existing symptoms.

Practical Tips for Better Sleep:

• Create a Sleep-Friendly Environment: It is essential for your brain to already be in a mellow, restful state when entering the nighttime. Suppose your brain is being stimulated by unnecessary distractions such as technology, artificial light, or high-pitched noises at least two to one hour before bed. In that case, your sleep quality will take a toll. Make sure to dim your lights, limit distractions, and have consistent access to fresh air to improve your sleep quality significantly.

• Monitor Your Diet and Habits: Make sure you get ample exercise each day. This will allow your body to naturally produce melatonin and, thus, get tired when it is time for bed. Moreover, it is recommended not to eat or drink anything at least two hours before bed because your digestive system and liver do not function efficiently and correctly when you are tired. These minor changes can drastically affect your sleep quality, helping you wake up with more energy and sleep throughout the night without disturbances. 

• Establish a Consistent Routine: Go to bed and wake up in a relatively similar time frame daily, this habit can help stablize your body’s sleep-wake cycle. Additionally, developing a pre-sleep ritual that includes reading, meditation, or a hot shower can help signal to your body that it is time to relax.

Sleep is the bedrock to our emotional and mental wellbeing. By prioritizing rest, adding in these practical tips, one can improve their resilience, mood, and overall health. These small changes today will eventually make a difference that ripples through in each and every aspect of one's life. Remember, seeking help for persistent sleep problems is a sign of taking care of oneself, not weakness.

Works Cited:

Harvard Medical School. “Sleep and Mood.” sleep.hms.harvard.edu, October 1, 2021. https://sleep.hms.harvard.edu/education-training/public-education/sleep-and-health-education-program/sleep-health-education-87.

University, Columbia. “How Sleep Deprivation Impacts Mental Health.” Columbia University Department of Psychiatry. Columbia University, March 16, 2022. https://www.columbiapsychiatry.org/news/how-sleep-deprivation-affects-your-mental-health.