Sleep and Health: What You Need to Know?

In this edition of Let's Get Talking, we will be exploring the topic of sleep, its link to mental health, and sleep hygiene through our micro-blog, a captivating quote, and much more…

Did you wake up tired this morning???

Do you experience frequent yawning throughout the day??

Do you have a hard time falling asleep?

If you answer positively to these, then there are high chances of poor sleep hygiene. But worry not! It isn’t something that cannot be undone.

What is this jargon, sleep hygiene? Basically, it is the practices and routines one should follow to get sound sleep like a baby! Paying heed to this sleep hygiene is crucial because sleep and mental health are strongly tied linked.

Does our brain rest when we sleep?

Studies say, when we sleep, our brain is engaged in activities that are linked to our quality of life. Quality sleep helps us not only regulate emotions and improve stress management but also enhances our cognitive function, including memory and decision-making. With all the chaos during the day, sound sleep can improve our overall mood and reduce the risk of anxiety and depression. Changes and setbacks in life are normal and cannot be avoided. By improving our coping skills and practicing mindfulness we can become more resilient. Why should we just survive when we can thrive? Healthy sleep hygiene can help us boost our creativity, problem-solving skills, social functioning, and even communication skills.

So, when we sleep, our brain readies us for all these, so that we can work more productively the next day.

But how do we maintain good sleep hygiene? Here’s a checklist for all of us…

• Go to bed only when you are sleepy
• Set a comfortable temperature in the room
• Engage in relaxing activities like light reading and breathing exercises
• Have a healthy and balanced diet
• Keep digital devices away at least 30-60 mins before bedtime

Let us try to follow these so that we all can sleep our way to better mental health.

1. Make a list of activities like deep breathing, light reading, or ambient music, that help you sleep. Now try practicing them consistently.
2. Try having a consistent sleep schedule. We know this sounds boring, but it does help!
3. Tense and then relax each muscle group in your body, starting with your toes and working your way up, as you lay in bed tonight.

Many of us have gotten into a habit of scrolling through social media in our free time. Be it during work breaks, or before we go to sleep, we do resort to digital activities every now and then.

While some of them are important and necessary, we don’t have to be addicted to it. What can we do to reduce this consumption of digital madness? Click now to know!