Happy Sleep Awareness Week! I am really excited to talk about sleep this week- I am super passionate about what sleep can do to our bodies and minds. I wanted to create an article that acts as a resource when we need a reminder on how to cultivate a good sleep schedule and not cultivate insomnia.&nbsp;When I was 20, I had anxiety-induced insomnia for about 6 months. And let me tell you, this was not a good time. I was tired and anxious; the anxiety prevented me from sleeping, and not sleeping just made me more anxious. I felt like a shell of myself, and it was really hard to bounce back from.&nbsp;To recover from this period, I had to work on my anxiety and keep a tight sleep schedule. In this article, we are going to talk about ways our mental health is connected to our sleep. We will also talk about how you can cultivate a good sleep schedule and set yourself up for success.&nbsp;<h2>Sleep and Mental Health</h2>Before my time with insomnia, I always knew that not sleeping well made me feel poorly. Beyond that association, I didn’t have the vocabulary or knowledge to describe exactly how a bad night’s sleep made me feel and act. Now, I can confidently say that it makes me highly emotional, irritable, and prone to lashing out.&nbsp;And I’m not the only one! <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/Mood-and-sleep">Experts report</a> that a bad night’s sleep is associated with anger, frustration, and sadness. Learning this helped me contextualize my negative feelings and understand where they were coming from: a lack of quality sleep.&nbsp;Now, we have scientific evidence that backs up how important sleep is for mental health. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8651630/">A study from Keele University</a> suggests that improving sleep quality leads to overall better mental health, even when participants had mental illness diagnoses such as psychosis.&nbsp;Here are some more studies that back up the importance of sleep hygiene and mental health:<ul><li>Sleep and Social Media: Not only does the light from your phone keep you awake, but <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40675-019-00148-9">researchers at the University of Glasgow</a> suggest that the emotional stimulation from social media is also bad for sleep. Try to swap social media for reading or listening to calming music to fight depression and insomnia. </li><li>Sleep and University Students: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0156372">Researchers at the University of California</a> conducted a sleep study on university students and discovered that sleep disruptions were associated with psychological distress. This study shows us that having a calm and quiet sleep environment can help our mental health significantly.</li><li>Sleep, Anxiety, and Children: The importance of good sleep is important for everyone, not just adults. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128153734000320">Researchers from Flinders University in Australia </a>discovered that children who get poor sleep have higher levels of anxiety. Teaching children good sleep habits will help them get ahead early!</li></ul><h2>What is Poor Sleep Hygiene?</h2>Sleep hygiene is the term <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-hygiene">experts</a> use to describe good sleep habits. Like personal hygiene, sleep hygiene requires attention and investment. There are lots of different ways to cultivate good sleep hygiene- check out the list below!<h3>Tips on Cultivating Good Sleep Hygiene:</h3><ol><li>Keep a regular sleep schedule every day: This means going to bed and waking up at the same time every day. This one can be really hard, because it means keeping a sleep schedule even on your days off. But, this will help positively set up your sleep hygiene!</li><li>Use your bed for sleeping: Sometimes, there is nothing better than getting into bed and turning on a good movie. But, sleep scientists claim that saving your bed for sleeping helps with your sleep hygiene. Consider taking that movie to the couch instead!</li><li>Avoid caffeine and nicotine: Ingestion of caffeine or nicotine is best when avoided, especially 4-6 hours before bed. These substances can keep you awake for longer than intended and throw you off your sleep rhythm. </li><li>Only nap when necessary: Experts recommend to avoid naps during the day if you can (as a nap lover, this was a hard pill to swallow). If you do need a nap, try to keep it before 3 pm and either around 20 minutes or 90 minutes. 20 minutes will give you an extra boost without feeling groggy, and 90 minutes will get you a full sleep cycle.&nbsp;</li></ol>Like any habit, starting these tips can be really hard. During my time with insomnia, my doctor told me to avoid naps, and I couldn’t imagine getting through the day without one. Now, I can appreciate a well timed nap, but only when I really need it. Using these tips helped me get back to normal with my sleep schedule.&nbsp;<h2>Sleep Habits as Self Care</h2>When I fall off my sleep routine, something that helps me reinstate my good sleep habits is treating them like a little bit of self care. Something I am guilty of is looking at my phone or laptop right before I go to bed. To try to stay away from screens and fight falling asleep anxiety from insomnia, I do a little bit of self care!For me, this looks like listening to music and doing a craft. I find working with my hands really soothing, so this gets me in the right mode to fall asleep. Any little hobby that is low energy and keeps you away from screens is not only a form of self care, but a great way to fight bedtime anxiety.<h2>Getting Help When You Need It</h2>When I had stress and insomnia, I knew it was time to get help. I spoke to my doctor about my issues with sleep, who connected me with a therapist that helped me work through my anxiety and my insomnia. I felt so relieved that my therapist validated my issues with sleep, which also helped my anxiety!If you feel like you need to talk to someone, Mental Health America has a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.mhanational.org/finding-therapy">Find A Therapist page</a> where you can sort based on your specific needs, like sleep deprivation and depression.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://peers.net/"> Certified peer support </a>can also be a great solution! <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://peers.net/peer-supporters">Peer supporters</a> are people your age who use their experience with lack of sleep and depression or other mental health experiences to help others. It is amazing and so validating to speak with someone who can connect with my experiences.For other mental health resources, you can check out the Peers.net Resource Links page <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://blog.peers.net/resource-links/">here</a>.&nbsp;When I had insomnia, I remember thinking I would never sleep again. Although a bit dramatic, I really did feel stuck. But sticking with these tips, educating myself on sleep and mental health, and finding help when I needed it all got my sleep schedule back on track. If this sounds like you, just know you are not alone- if I made it through, so can you.&nbsp; &nbsp;

Hannah Johns

Sleep Tight! Sleep and Mental Health

PacificSource Health Plans

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey

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