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When it comes to sleep, we each have our particular preferences. We might insist on a certain side of the bed. We might require total darkness or a certain thread count for sheets. In some beds, cats and dogs are welcome; in others, not so much.
Our preferences also impact when we go to sleep and how long we sleep. In some cases a work schedule might impede our natural sleep rhythms. Often, however, we fall into sleep patterns that are influenced by our lifestyle and choices.
Early risers appear to enjoy getting up with the sun and going to bed at a reasonable hour. On the other hand, some people are decidedly night owls and prefer to wake up late in the day and go to bed well after midnight. Others may experience more erratic sleep patterns, never getting more than five to six hours of sleep at a stretch.
Whether a person adopts regimented sleep or erratic sleep patterns or prefers to be a night owl, our sleep patterns can shed light on our mental health. Poor quality sleep can also detract from mental health, while healthy sleep patterns support it. Here, we’ll explore how sleep style can influence mental health.
Sleep and Mental Health: Understanding the Connection
First, it’s important to remember that many environmental and lifestyle factors can affect mental health. For instance, using recreational drugs can impact the brain’s chemistry and cause changes to mental health. Sleep patterns are just another factor that can influence the brain positively or negatively. One thing is clear to medical researchers: poor sleep or lack of sleep can contribute to the onset or worsening of a mental health problem. Meanwhile, conversely, the presence of a mental health problem can also negatively impact sleep, making the relationship between sleep and mental health bi-directional.
How Sleep Supports (or Detracts from) Mental Health
According to Scientific American, there is little medical evidence to support being a night owl. Night owls are at increased risk for hypertension, type 2 diabetes, obesity, infertility, substance addiction, and psychiatric disorders. In many cases, though, people do not choose to be night owls. Work or other external demands may require that they stay up into the wee hours of the morning.
Being a night owl in a 9-5 world is also challenging. Getting to bed late and being forced to wake up early for a job, for instance, means that we don’t get the adequate sleep needed to support optimum mental health. Similarly, people with erratic sleep habits are at increased risk for both mental and physical health problems. Getting too little sleep during the week and then crashing on weekends undermines natural sleep rhythms. “Catching up on sleep” is simply not as healthy as getting quality sleep each night.
Does Sleep Need to Be in a Standard Window?
What is important to remember is that it is the quality and amount of sleep that supports or detracts from mental health. If you’re a night owl and work nights, for instance, you may have no trouble managing your lifestyle, because you prefer to sleep during the day; you get your eight hours in and feel well-rested and alert when you wake up.
Even so, remember that sleep is not the only factor impacting mental health. Humans do need sunlight and too much darkness is associated with mental and mood health disturbances like seasonal depression. However, each individual is different, so it is important to gauge one’s moods in light of lifestyle choices and habits, including sleep.
Factors That Affect Sleep and Mental Health
Again, it is important to remember that it is sleep deprivation that can negatively impact mental health. Erratic sleep patterns throw off our natural rhythms. Even so, there is strong evidence that suggests factors like lack of sunlight can impede quality sleep. For instance, studies have shown that shift workers who work nights may produce less melatonin.
Melatonin is known as the “sleep hormone.” Not producing enough of this hormone is linked to sleep problems like insomnia. Insomnia, of course, leads to lack of sleep which can trigger mental health disturbances. Many factors are closely entwined, especially for night owls and people who get erratic sleep.
What Do Sleep Patterns Reveal about Mental Health?
While being an early bird doesn’t protect you from experiencing a mental health problem, being a night owl is associated with an increased risk for mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. If you are feeling anxious or depressed, one thing to consider is sleep quality. Both insomnia and oversleeping, which are indicative of unhealthy sleep patterns, can be signs of a mental health problem.
Although scientists are still learning about what the brain is up to while a person is asleep, they do know that it is busy attending to “brain maintenance” and things that support brain health. When the brain is deprived of sleep, it cannot attend to this maintenance, and mental health can suffer.
Are Your Sleep Patterns Pointing to an Unhealthy Mental Health Status?
It is worth considering one’s mental health routinely, so that you can catch signs or symptoms of a mental health disturbance before they could become more serious. Common signs of mental health problems include:
- Feeling sad
- Experiencing excessive worrying or fear (catastrophizing)
- Feeling unable to focus or concentrate
- Having low energy
- Struggling to cope well with daily stressors
- Experiencing changes in eating habits
- Withdrawing from activities you normally enjoy
- Feeling irritable and struggling to control outbursts
- Experiencing emotional extremes
- Abusing drugs and alcohol
- Feeling suicidal
And, of course, sleep disturbances may also be indicative of a mental health disturbance. Of course, there are many different factors that can cause a mental health problem, including one’s genetics. Some factors affecting mental health can be controlled; others—not so much. For instance, one can stop using alcohol when it is impeding mental health.
In a similar vein, there are things one can do to improve sleep. It is therefore important not to wait to seek help if your sleep patterns are affecting your mood and mental health. Mental health problems can worsen over time and require more time to heal. Improving sleep patterns may require lifestyle changes, but mental health professionals may be able to help you manage your sleep and mental health with strategies designed to improve both. If signs and symptoms of a mental health disturbance do not clear up on their own within two weeks, or if you are experiencing acute symptoms such as feeling suicidal, seek medical care immediately.
Improving Sleep Quality
If you are a night owl, be mindful if your sleep becomes erratic or you don’t get enough sleep each night. While you may feel that changing your work schedule is impossible, it may behoove some people to consider career or job changes that are more in keeping with their natural sleep patterns. On the other hand, there are also ways to promote improved sleep such as:
- Increasing one’s exposure to light during the day (to spur melatonin production)
- Refraining from using technology an hour before bedtime
- Avoiding naps so you can establish healthy patterns
- Avoiding caffeine, particularly later in the day
- Establishing a healthy sleep schedule
- Setting a temperature that’s conducive to sleep
- Creating a restful bedroom environment (for example, using blackout curtains)
FHE Health specializes in mental health. Whether you are a night owl or an early bird, if poor sleep is impeding your mental health, FHE Health may be able to help. Contact us today to explore how.
