Better Sleep, Improved Mental Health: Three Tips for Both

Getting enough sleep every night is an essential part of maintaining one’s mental health. When sleep disorders come into play, they can lead to problems such as anxiety, moodiness, and feelings of depression. Of course, mental health issues themselves can cause sleep disruption. For instance, people experiencing depression may experience symptoms such as hypersomnia or insomnia. When a person experiences sleep disturbances alongside mental health issues, it can end up being a vicious cycle from which they have difficulty breaking. That’s why it’s so important to maintain sleep hygiene to facilitate uninterrupted rest and better mental health.

Upgrade Your Mattress

If you’re tossing and turning all night and waking up feeling unrested, it may be time to upgrade your mattress. Mattresses should be replaced at least every seven to 10 years (though this number depends greatly on the type), but even if yours is relatively new, it’s worthwhile to consider a different model. Our bodies and their needs change with time, so it is very possible the soft mattresses you loved when you were younger are not giving your spine the support it needs. This can lead to pressure, pain, and inflammation, which makes it difficult for the body to rest properly at night. You wake up with aches and pains while feeling like those eight hours were no more than two. Look into new models of mattresses on the market today and narrow down your search by finding ones that fit your particular sleep needs.

Exercise Every Day

Next time you have difficulty falling asleep at night, ask yourself what you did during the day to use up energy. If you spend the majority of your hours sedentary, it’s likely you didn’t do enough to wear yourself out in order to fall asleep. Humans need activity, but the conveniences and responsibilities of modern life have most of us sitting down all day. Adding exercise to your daily routine may not sound fun, but it could help with insomnia. You may not see immediate payoffs, but with consistency, you will sleep better, deeper, and longer at night.

Avoid exercising right before it is time to sleep; instead, aim for morning or early afternoon. Among the many benefits of regular exercise is the sudden surge of feel-good endorphins as well as the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin. However, there are ways to beat post-workout insomnia, so you can’t use “it’s too late” as an excuse not to exercise.

Reduce the Blue

Perhaps the single biggest contributor to sleep problems is the use of artificial lighting and blue light-emitting electronics at night. Blue light is natural — the sun emits blue waves along with the red, orange, yellow, green, indigo, and violet wavelengths that make up our color spectrum. When we are exposed to sunlight, it makes us feel more alert and energetic so we can get through the day. What’s not natural is how often we are exposed to artificial blue light through fluorescent bulbs, LED electronics, televisions, computer monitors, smartphones, and tablet screens. Overexposure to this light tricks the brain into thinking it isn’t night and thus makes it more difficult to fall asleep. Blue light even suppresses the brain’s production of melatonin, the hormone that helps signal to the body that it’s time for bed.

Reduce your exposure to blue light before bed to ensure your body has enough time to wind down and feel sleepy. Instead of scrolling through Instagram or binge-watching shows, try reading before bed to reduce stress, increase empathy, and even improve dreams.

When you don’t sleep well, you don’t feel well. If you are trying to improve your mental health, practicing good sleep hygiene is a must. Consider upgrading your mattress to something that supports your sleep style to prevent aches and pains the next morning. Daily exercise allows the body to expel energy so there’s none left to keep you up at night. Finally, most of us are making it harder to sleep by staring at blue light-emitting screens at night. Turn of the tablets, smartphones, and televisions, and pick up a book for better sleep and mental health.