Sleep therapist full#

1,11 People who struggle with nightmares have been found to struggle with more suicidal thoughts and urges. There is a troubling link between sleep problems and higher levels of suicidal thoughts, attempts, and completed suicides. The link between sleep problems and mood extends to other mood disorders like Bipolar Disorder, where hypersomnia is common during depressive episodes and insomnia is common in the vast majority of manic episodes. 3,6 People with depression also demonstrate abnormalities in REM sleep by spending more time in REM than non-depressed people and exhibiting more rapid and intense eye movements in REM. Research has shown that up to 90% of people diagnosed with major depressive disorder struggle with sleep difficulties. The strongest link between sleep and mental health is its link to depression. 7 They have more difficulties in work, school, and social relationships, and are also more susceptible to injuries, accidents, and chronic health problems. People who don’t get enough sleep are more likely to think negatively, be more self-critical, and struggle more with confidence and self-esteem issues, potentially leading to a cycle of revenge bedtime procrastination. 4,9,10īecause of the many ways that sleep deprivation or poor sleep affect people’s mental health, it is not surprising that sleep issues are also correlated to overall higher levels of stress and lower levels of life satisfaction. Sleep deprivation also causes people to feel sluggish, exhausted, and less able to focus and be productive. This leads to more impulsive decision making and less careful consideration and planning.

When people don’t get enough sleep, they become more moody, irritable, stressed out, and have more trouble regulating their emotions. 4,6,8Īside from the increased rate of mental illnesses, a lack of adequate, quality sleep also affects the mental health of all people, even those without these conditions. People who have mental illnesses like depression and who also struggle with sleep problems are less receptive to treatment and are more likely to experience more severe symptoms. The relationship between mental health conditions and sleep is bidirectional, meaning that sleep problems can be caused and worsened by these conditions and may also cause or worsen these conditions. Research has also shown that people with sleep problems are more likely to develop these conditions, and also that these conditions can worsen someone’s symptoms. 3,6 For example, hypersomnia (sleeping too much) and insomnia (not sleeping enough) are often symptoms of mental illnesses, suggesting they are caused by these conditions-but the reverse is true as well. When it comes to mental illnesses like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and even schizophrenia, sleep problems have a complicated two-way relationship. 4,10 The Mental Health & Sleep Connection

REM sleep is believed to be highly influential in cognition, learning, memory, and also emotion regulation. Interestingly, the arms and legs are paralyzed in REM sleep, which prevents people from physically acting out their dreams, but electrical brain activity, heart rate, and respiration all increase to near-waking levels. REM sleep is where the majority of dreams occur. Lighter sleep and REM sleep are especially mysterious, as the activity of the brain and body mirrors that of when the body is awake. 4,5,10ĭeeper sleep involves slow-wave brain activity that seems to have a restorative effect on the body and brain and helps people wake up refreshed. What this means is that it is not just how long you sleep that matters, but also, the overall quality of sleep as measured by the time and activity in each part of the cycle. The functioning of this cycle, the amount of time spent in each stage, and the body and brain demonstrating the normal responses in each cycle seems to be essential to the restorative benefits of sleep. Each part of the cycle seems to have a different function which some experts believe include detoxing the body and brain, rebalancing brain chemistry, consolidating memory and information, and even renewing the body at a cellular level.

Sleep therapist full#

During a normal full night of sleep, a person cycles through several sleep stages that involve periods of lighter and deeper sleep. Sleep plays a foundational role in physical health, mood, daytime energy levels, and cognitive functioning.