Are you getting enough?

Sleep has been an issue for me on and off all my life - there have been lots of periods where I have struggled to get enough, consistent, good quality sleep.

It’s easy to under-estimate just how powerful sleep is- and what a difference sleep can make to your mental health. And this really can go either way- a lack of sleep can exacerbate existing mental health issues or, over time contribute significantly to new mental health issues developing. Regularly have the right amount of sleep (more on this later) can really help to manage common mental health issues like depression and anxiety.

“Living with a mental health problem can affect how well you sleep, and poor sleep can have a negative impact on your mental health (Mind website, 2019)”

Why is sleep so important?

Sleep plays a vital role in your physical health. For example, sleep is involved in repairing the heart and blood vessels. Ongoing sleep deficiency is linked to a higher risk of heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke.

When it comes to mental health - poor sleep can be one of the first signs of distress. Some mental health problems like anxiety and depression can underpin sleep problems.

Sleeping helps us to recover from mental as well as physical exertion.

“With increasingly busy lives it's estimated that we now sleep around 90 minutes less each night than we did in the 1920s. If you add to this the large numbers who are known to have problems sleeping, it's obvious that many people are now functioning in a permanently sleep-deprived state (Mental Health Foundation website, 2019)”

So what is the right amount of sleep?

The national sleep foundation recommends that adults have daily sleep of 7-9 hours. Regularly having less than this can have a significant negative affect to wellbeing. 

What can you do to improve your chances of having more, good quality sleep?

There are many things you can try to help yourself sleep well.

• Exercise regularly, but not less than three hours before bedtime.
• Reduce tea and coffee intake and don't drink a lot of alcohol before bed.
• Try to go to establish good sleep habits- sleep and wake up at the same time each day if you can.
• Only use your bed for sleep or sex. Your bed should be associated with sleep.
• Establish a regular, relaxing bedtime routine that helps you to unwind and sends a signal to your brain that it's time for sleep.
• If you can't sleep, try not to worry about it. Get up and do something relaxing like listening to music or reading until you feel sleepy.

Writing this has reminded me of some of the habits that I have fallen out of and that I know help me to enjoy good sleep. I will have a focus on those things next week, but probably not much use trying while I am at a festival this weekend! 

With love x