Mental Health and a Good Night’s Sleep.
Looking after your mental health has never been more important. One crucial health factor is getting a good night’s sleep.
A Good Night’s Sleep
A good night’s sleep doesn’t just mean lots of sleep: it means the right kind of sleep. Sleep affects our ability to use language, sustain attention, understand what we are reading, and summarise what we are hearing; if we compromise on our sleep, we compromise on our performance and our mood.
Sleep has also been shown to protect the immune system. The amount that each person needs is different; however, it is recommended that a healthy adult should sleep, on average, between seven and nine hours a night.
The important thing is that you get good-quality sleep. The following advice can help to HEAL your sleep problems.
The four pillars of good sleep are:
Health
Environment
Attitude
Lifestyle
Sleep Disorders; the problems they cause
Below is a table of some of the most common sleep problems, with techniques that can be used to treat them.
Insomnia
Insomnia is the name given to the condition where you are regularly unable to fall asleep or remain asleep for a long enough period of time. As a result, insomnia can have a negative impact on your mood, energy levels, concentration, relationships, ability to stay awake throughout the day, and ability to complete simple daily tasks.
Sleepwalking
Sleepwalking happens during deep sleep, meaning people can rarely remember doing it. As well as getting out of bed and walking, some people do tasks in their sleep, such as cleaning. Sleepwalking is far more common in children than in adults.
Snoring
Snoring is a very common problem, affecting 41.5% of adults in the UK.26 Snoring is a breathing problem, rather than a sleep problem, and happens when a blockage in the airway causes the organs that help us breathe to vibrate. It is usually more of a problem for anyone who shares a room with a snorer, rather than for the snorer themselves.
Night Terrors
A night terror is different from a nightmare in that it occurs during deep sleep, meaning that you rarely remember it. Often an extreme and frightening experience, night terrors make your heart beat faster and might cause you to sweat or scream. Night terrors often begin in childhood, but rarely continue into adulthood.
Sleep apnoea
Sleep apnoea causes shallow breathing or pauses in breathing that may last up to 30 seconds at a time. In most cases, you will begin to breathe normally again, often making a loud snort or choking sound to clear your airway. People with sleep apnoea can wake up frequently throughout the night feeling sweaty with a dry mouth and a headache.
Help for Sleep Disorders
Sleepio is an organisation dedicated to helping people sleep better, co-founded by Professor Colin Espie, Director of the University of Oxford Sleep Centre and the ‘top tips’ sleep doctor in this guide. The Sleepio website includes information about various sleep problems.
Your Local GP. If you continue to be concerned about the amount and quality of sleep you are having, and the effects it is having on other aspects of your life, you should speak to your GP, who will be able to help and provide further guidance and support.
The British Snoring & Sleep Apnoea Association is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to helping snorers and their bed partners improve their sleep.
Be Mindful is a campaign by the Mental Health Foundation to make courses in mindfulness meditation available to everyone who wants or needs them. This site provides useful information on what mindfulness is and the different mindfulness-based courses available. You can also search for mindfulness courses near you, or sign up for the Mental Health Foundation’s specially developed online course.
The British Sleep Society is a charity for medical, scientific, and healthcare workers dealing with sleep disorders in the UK.
Working out the reasons why you might have problems sleeping can be difficult. Keeping a sleep diary can help you keep track of when you slept well or poorly, and the possible reasons why that happened. Remember, this diary is your personal record of how well you slept and why, so be honest!
If you are experiencing ANY sleep related issue, that is affecting your mental health and well-being, we may be able to help you improve the quality of your sleep and restore you peace of mind.
