Sleep: Why it’s essential for your mental wellbeing
Learn why sleep is the key to good mental wellbeing and how to improve yours.
It’s hard to beat that feeling of waking up from a good night's sleep, well rested, energised and ready to take on the day.
Sleep is an essential bodily function, just like breathing, eating and drinking. It massively impacts our health and daily functioning, including cardiovascular health and immune system, memory, learning, creativity and emotional regulation.
The benefits of a good night’s sleep go far beyond energy levels and basic functioning. But many of us aren’t getting what we need when our head hits the pillow.
Sleep isn’t always simple, it can be tricky and complex. While some people sleep soundly almost every night, others wake in the night, struggle to fall asleep, or have poor quality sleep.
This article will explore the impacts of good and bad sleep, some of the research and science behind sleep, and some strategies to improve your quality of sleep.
Why good sleep matters
On a basic level, sleep helps your brain work properly. While you’re in dreamland, your brain is preparing for the next day, forming new pathways to help you learn and remember information.
Research shows the effects can be powerful, from enhancing learning and problem solving skills, to helping you focus, make decisions and be creative.
Good sleep also boosts our immune system, bolsters the stress response, recharges the systems that help regulate emotions, consolidates memories and thoughts, and connects us to others. It can even help regulate your appetite, weight, and help control your blood sugar levels.
The positive and wide ranging impact of good quality sleep is clear. All of these wonderful benefits of good sleep are beneficial for both our physical and mental wellbeing, and have a real impact on everyday life.
That’s why good sleep is a foundation of mental wellbeing. However, it isn’t always simple to get enough sleep (or good quality sleep). And the impact of poor sleep can be very detrimental.
How poor sleep affects mental wellbeing
Research shows if you’re not getting enough sleep (or good quality sleep), you might have trouble with decision making, solving problems, being creative, memory, regulating your emotions and behaviour, and coping with change.
The long-term effects of sleep deprivation are real and are linked to a number of health problems, including a weakened immune system, being more vulnerable to respiratory infections like the common cold and flu, and hormone production. One analysis has even linked insomnia to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.
As well as physical effects, sleep deprivation also negatively affects your mental abilities and emotional state, including anxiety, depression, and impulsive behaviour.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, those with insomnia have a 10 times higher risk of developing depression compared to those who get enough restful sleep.
The good thing is that sleep has also been linked to improving mental health disorders. According to the journal Lancet Psychiatry, people with mental health disorders showed improvement from increased amount and quality of sleep.
There’s still a lot we don’t know about sleep, but it’s clear that both good and poor sleep have a huge impact on mental wellbeing.
So, how are we sleeping?
In New Zealand and Australia, more than a third of Kiwis and one in three Aussies report they aren’t getting enough sleep.
This stacks up with numbers from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who report that 35% of adults don’t get enough sleep (7 hours per day).
One study stated that 30% of the adult US population suffer from insomnia, and 10% from chronic insomnia, making it the most common sleep disorder.
While we all feel the impact of sleep on a personal level, on a collective and nation wide level the impact is immense. Lack of sleep costs the US over $411 billion dollars annually and 1.2 million working days due to lost productivity, according to one study that looked at the economic impact of poor sleep across the world.
The good news is that there are simple things people can do to help get a better night’s sleep. Some of it might sound a little obvious (or boring), but these small and smart changes can add up to make a big difference.
Tips to get a better night’s sleep
Here are some tips to improve your sleep quality. Try out a few different techniques and see what works for you.
Limit sugar, alcohol, and caffeine
Sugar can keep you awake and increase your appetite, so try to stay away from sugary snacks and drinks later in the day.
While a glass of wine might make you feel sleepy, alcohol can interfere with your sleeping patterns, and not in a good way. Try having sparkling water with lemon, kombucha, or your preferred non-alcoholic drink instead.
Consuming too much caffeine during the day can mess with your sleep, so practice moderation when it comes to coffee and other caffeinated drinks. A good trick is to enjoy your morning coffee and then switch to tea and water after lunch.
Sleep hygiene
Sleep hygiene refers to the practices and habits surrounding your sleep routine and environment. Good sleep hygiene can greatly improve the soundness and quality of your slumber.
Many people find these habits help:
Limiting daytime naps to 30 minutes or less (Here’s how to take the perfect power nap)
Exercising, but not too close to bedtime
Avoiding stimulating activities before bedtime, such as work or using the internet
Getting natural light throughout the day and keeping the bedroom dark at night
A comfortable bedroom: a good mattress, white noise if you like it, and a temperature of around 16-19 degrees celsius
Sleep schedule and bedtime routine
Try to keep bedtimes and wake times as consistent as possible. While there’s no one-size-fits-all time to go to bed or get up, it can help your body to stick to a regular schedule.
What you do in the time before you go to bed is also important. Try to avoid lights and screens, and include activities like a warm bath, shower, writing down your thoughts, reading a book, practising a breathing technique, or calming your mind with meditation.
Feeling sleepy yet?
Working out what works for you may take some trial and error, but the benefits of good sleep (and avoiding the impact of bad sleep) is well worth it.
And remember, if you are really struggling with sleep or feel like you’ve tried everything and nothing works, talk to your doctor.
Is your workplace signed up to Mentemia Premium?
If they are, you can get even more advice by chatting to our new AI-enabled digital sleep coach, Digital JK (or DJK for short) in the Mentemia app.
He’s there to help you figure out what’s impacting your sleep and give expert tips and advice on how to get a better night’s sleep. As more people use DJK, he’ll get smarter and grow.
Getting DJK for you and your workplace
DJK is just one of the tools in the Mentemia app. Our wider platform and mental wellbeing ecosystem allow businesses to use technology to help support their people at scale.
We recently released new business tiers (Starter, Plus and Premium) as part of our offering for workplaces. DJK is a Premium feature and available now.
