How Trouble Sleeping is Affecting Your Mental Health, Work, Diet & Life
Sleep is vital to your mental and physical health. But of course, you won’t be able to take care of your body if your mind is not well.
The problem is that today, it can be challenging for people to sleep naturally. And the most common sleep problem is insomnia, a disorder that affects around one in three adults.
Insomnia can be caused by physical conditions, lifestyle habits, mental health problems, or changes to the environment.
In the United States alone, 70% of adults say they don’t get enough sleep at least once a month, while 11% say they don’t get enough sleep every night.
Sleep issues are thought to afflict 50 to 70 million Americans of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds.
And you can be suffering from these issues. If so, you need to find your way to peaceful rest.
In this article, we will talk about how lack of sleep can impact your life and what you can do about it.
And first of all, you will need to learn whether you have any condition that renders you sleepless every night. This way, you can pinpoint the cause and make an effort to eliminate it.
What are the Signs that You’re Not Sleeping Well?
If you’re not sleeping well, there are some signs that might help you identify the problem.
Inappropriate sleep behavior:
- You go to bed later and wake up earlier
- You have trouble falling asleep
- You wake up in the middle of the night
Sleep apnea:
- Your breathing pauses during sleep, resulting in a lack of oxygen and frequent snoring noises.
- Chronic sleep deprivation:
- Difficulty focusing on tasks or activities
- Memory problems
If you have any of these symptoms, your mental health and entire wellbeing can be at risk.
How Is Not Getting Enough Sleep Affecting Your Mental Health?
We’ve all been there. You’ve been up all night, and by the time you wake up in the morning, you feel like you need a nap before your head is clear enough to do anything.
This is not a good feeling at all, but it might be even worse if you already have a mood disorder.
Not getting enough sleep can make it harder for people with depression to concentrate and perform tasks, which may cause them to feel more hopeless and inadequate.
And it’s bad enough that you are unable to do your responsibilities properly. But lack of sleep also imbalances your hormones.
Research has shown that getting less than 7 hours of sleep can cause a drop in serotonin and dopamine levels, which can lead to depression.
Research also shows that lack of sleep is linked to an increase in suicidal thoughts and behaviors among people with depression.
This phenomenon can be attributed to a number of factors, including stress levels, how many hours the person has slept that day, and the person’s personal interpretation of their dreams.
Furthermore, not getting enough sleep can lead to an increased risk of developing anxiety disorders or other mental health problems, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Aside from these direct consequences to your mental health, lack of sleep can also add to factors that increase your insecurities. For example, sleeplessness can mess up with your diet and lead you to become obese.
How Sleep is Messing with Your Diet & Weight Loss Goals
Our natural sleep cycle helps manage the release of our hormones. And two of them are insulin and ghrelin, hormones that affect our appetite and how we digest sugars.
Studies have shown that sleep deprivation can increase levels of ghrelin, the hormone that stimulates hunger.
A study from the National Institute of Health has found that our hunger hormones are regulated by our sleep patterns. Researchers found that those who slept less than six hours a night had a 10% increase in ghrelin.
An increase in ghrelin makes you want to eat even when your body no longer needs to. And when people are sleep deprived, they may not eat enough of the right foods, which can lead to weight loss.
Also, this hormonal imbalance is why you get hungry in the middle of the night when you are doing late shifts.
So sleep deprivation can lead to an increase in hunger which can lead to weight gain. That’s why it can be difficult for those with insomnia to maintain a healthy diet and lose weight.
On the other hand, you can have too much or too little insulin when you have a hormonal imbalance due to lack of sleep. Too much insulin promotes weight growth by causing the cells to absorb too much glucose, which the body then turns to fat.
The Importance of Restful Sleep to Your Daily Routine – And How to Get it!
Managing a hectic schedule can be a challenge. And some underlying conditions can make it more challenging to have a peaceful sleep.
Sleep is a necessary function that helps your body and mind to replenish, allowing you to wake up feeling refreshed and alert.
Healthy sleep also aids in the body’s wellness and illness prevention.
The brain cannot function correctly if it does not get adequate sleep. This can make it difficult for you to concentrate, think clearly, or remember things.
So if you want to restore and improve your mental health, you need a good night’s rest every time.
But how?
Here are 10 tips for you to sleep well at night.
- Exercise regularly to reduce the extra energy that may keep you awake at night.
- Reduce day napping so that you don’t rob off your night’s sleeping hours.
- Use a melatonin sleeping aid like Lullaby Sleep Softgels as it can supplement your body’s natural melatonin levels whenever it is difficult to feel tired.
- Make your bedroom comfortable – dark, silent, just the right temperature.
- Do not consume alcoholic beverages before sleeping, as it can mess up with your natural melatonin levels.
- Expose yourself to bright light in the morning and keep things dark at night.
- Do not use gadgets at least one hour before sleeping to minimize stress, stimulation, and exposure to blue light.
- Eat a healthy diet and keep your physical wellness in check.
- Minimize working late night shifts.
- Do not eat at least three hours before sleeping so that digestion doesn’t disturb your sleep.