Unbeknownst to many, there is a correlation between sleep and mental health, and as such, living with a mental health issue can affect how well you sleep. In turn, poor sleep can have a negative impact on your mental status.
See a pattern – or, better yet, a cycle – developing here?
The following list represents the ways in which sleep can be affected by notable psychological wellbeing problems.
It is an unfortunate fact of life that spending the majority of our adulthood at a job is a reality. In addition to an American workday that averages 9.5 hours, a Sleep in America poll we looked at found that each week, Americans are spending more than four extra hours working from home – a statistic undoubtedly fueled by the post-pandemic climate.
In obese people, fat deposits in the upper respiratory tract make the airway narrow, leading to a decrease in muscle activity in this region and, ultimately, apneic and hypoxic episodes – thus, sleep apnea. These episodes lead to an oxygen decrease in both blood vessels and body tissues, and this decreased oxygenation is a contributor to tissue hypoxia, the primary aggressor of atherosclerosis.
When we’re young, we really don’t think about it too much, but after we’ve put some years behind us and have to catch a good night’s rest in order to function at a job in the adult world, we come to understand the value of sleep. According to research we’ve looked at and analyzed, the average human being spends a third of their life sleeping, and it should come as no surprise that good sleep equates to good health.
When we think about foods or beverages that may keep us up at night, we immediately conjure up visions of coffee, cola, chocolate and all other manner of sugary delights. But what about foods that can actually help us sleep better?
Sleep, like anything else, can be good or bad in quality, and often times it’s everything in-between – including restless. One of the major causes of this broken, restless sleep is stress...Read more
Most of these will be over-the-counter remedies (i.e. “sleeping pills”) from either name brand companies or generic variants, yet the results should remain the same: assistance in lulling yourself to sleep when your mind and/or body just won’t let you.
As many as a third of American male adults – according to research culled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – aren’t getting enough sleep on a regular basis…and that’s an alarming statistic when you break it down. There are a myriad of possible factors at play here with regard to why someone could be struggling to sleep peacefully, the more common reasons having to do with mental health issues or poor “sleep hygiene.”
Before you know it, it’ll be back-to-school time, and for those of you with children who may be heading back to the classroom this fall, you know how difficult, challenging and downright strange – in some places – the whole education subject has become over the past year. From accusations of indoctrination methodologies to the battle over masks, nothing is as easy as it once was in the world of parenting…and being a student.
From sundresses and strappy sandals to bikinis and cocktails poolside, summer enables us to shed the clothing layers of winter and is a much-awaited season filled with long sunny days, outdoor gatherings – well, prior to COVID concerns, that is – and warm temperatures. But for many, the season also signals a period for insomnia.
