Sleep and Mental Health: The Science Behind It

Sleep is like a super pill. Consistent sleep can help your body fight off sickness, lower your risk of chronic diseases (like diabetes or heart disease to name a few), and can even help you heal after an injury. Sleep though isn’t just good for your physical health. It works undercover on pathways within your body to support and benefit your mental health too. Before you prepare to catch some Z’s, read below to learn how sleep helps your mind and body!

Benefits at a Glance

• Improved Mood: Good sleep can stabilize your mood, prevent irritability, and help regulate your emotions.
• Enhanced Cognitive Function: Good sleep is linked to better concentration, memory, and decision-making skills.
• Reduced Stress and Anxiety: Good quality sleep helps regulate stress hormones which impact anxiety.

The Science Behind It

Sleeping is sort of like plugging in your charger. While it may look like limited activity, underneath your body is setting the stage to get you ready to take on your week! We briefly talked about the physical benefits, but how does sleep help your mind, and mental state? Let’s break down some key factors that help with this:

Neurotransmitter Regulation: Neurotransmitters are chemicals the brain releases to help both your brain and body communicate with each other and function fully. Dopamine is one of these released during deep sleep. This neurotransmitter helps with things like memory, concentration, and learning; but also helps with mood and physical movement. Serotonin also plays a role in learning, memory, happiness, and reward, as well as behavior, and appetite. The release of norepinephrine during sleep exerts effects on a variety of processes. This includes stress reduction, sleep cycles, and increased attention and focus.

Brain Plasticity and Memory Consolidation: During sleep, especially REM sleep, the brain processes and consolidates memories and learning experiences, which is essential for cognitive function and mental resilience.

Stress Hormone Regulation: Adequate sleep helps maintain the balance of stress hormones like cortisol. High levels of cortisol due to sleep deprivation can lead to increased stress and anxiety.

Emotion Processing: REM sleep, in particular, is crucial for processing emotional experiences. It helps in the modulation of emotional responses and reduces the intensity of emotional memories.

How Do I Get a Good Night’s Sleep

Sleep and mental health can have a contentious relationship. Problems with your mental health can cause disruption in sleep patterns, and vice versa: disrupted sleep can cause problems with your mental health. It’s a vicious cycle, however, there are strategies to improve sleep to break this cycle.

1. Maintain a Consistent Sleep Schedule: Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. This helps regulate your body’s internal clock, making it easier to fall asleep and wake up naturally. If you are having trouble maintaining this schedule, try incorporating stress-reduction techniques such as mindfulness, meditation, or yoga into your daily routine. These have been shown to improve sleep quality.

2. Create a Relaxing Bedtime Routine: Engage in calming activities before bed to signal to your body that it’s time to wind down. This can include reading, taking a warm bath, or practicing relaxation exercises like deep breathing or meditation.​ Avoid large meals, caffeine, and alcohol close to bedtime. While alcohol might make you feel sleepy initially, it can disrupt your sleep cycle later in the night. Try to avoid screens at least an hour before bed or use blue light filters on your devices.

3. Optimize Your Sleep Environment: Make sure your bedroom is conducive to sleep by keeping it cool, dark, and quiet. Consider using blackout curtains, earplugs, or a white noise machine to minimize disturbances. A comfortable mattress and pillows also contribute to better sleep quality.

4. Do things during your day to help your night. Regular physical activity can promote better sleep, helping you fall asleep faster and enjoy deeper sleep. If you do vigorous exercise, try to finish exercising at least a few hours before bedtime, as exercising too late can interfere with sleep​. While short naps can be beneficial, long or irregular napping during the day can negatively affect nighttime sleep. If you need to nap, try to limit it to 20-30 minutes and avoid napping after 2pm.

The Main Takeaway

Ensuring you get enough high-quality sleep can lead to improved mood, better cognitive function, and reduced stress and anxiety. The science is clear: sleep is not just a passive state but an active process that plays a significant role in mental well-being. Make sleep a priority to reap its extensive mental health benefits.