Are sleep and mental health connected? Yes. Most of us are aware of the mental health benefits of a good night’s sleep; we feel refreshed, better able to tackle what the day brings, and more positive in general. Yet, despite these benefits, we still often view sleep as either a precious commodity or as secondary to life’s other demands.
Studies show that for better well-being, performance, and relationships, we should all aim for around seven or eight hours of sleep per night. However, many people attempt to function on considerably less – in fact, according to research, at least one-third of the American population.
The association between sleep disorders and mental health is clear. Lack of sleep can contribute to difficulties concentrating, problem-solving, motivation, and even physical and mental health issues, leading the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention to declare insufficient sleep a “public health problem.”1,2
To help highlight the importance of how sleep affects mental health, this article outlines 10 tips about how sleep can improve mental health.
10 Ways Sleep Can Improve Your Mental Health
Sleep can improve your mental health in more ways than one. Let’s explore each of the ways sleep can help us feel more mentally healthy.
1. Sleep Helps Us Better Manage Our Emotions
The link between sleep and emotional well-being has been shown in many studies. When we sleep, we go through phases of rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM (NREM) sleep which help our brains to restore and recharge.
REM sleep is even sometimes called the brain’s “emotional first aid” as it allows us to process stressful or traumatic memories in a “safe” environment. Therefore, a good night’s sleep means we’re more capable of handling emotionally stressful events during waking hours – so we’re more mentally and physically equipt to handle anything that may come our way.3
2. Sleep Leads to Good Decision-Making
Did you know that driving while sleep-deprived could potentially be as dangerous as driving under the influence? This may be because a lack of sleep affects our ability to make decisions – especially ones that involve unexpected change.
According to a study that looked at the effects of sleep loss on decision-making, people who experienced less sleep were less able to make decisions in response to changes in their environment than those who slept well. This indicates that getting the recommended hours of sleep could positively affect you in your personal, professional, and social life as you can make the right decisions for yourself and others.4
3. Sleep Improves Problem-Solving Skills
How often have you lain awake at night, going over the same problem in your head? Yet, once you’ve slept on it, the problem doesn’t seem anywhere near as bad as it did when you couldn’t sleep. This effect demonstrates sleep’s ability to help us problem-solve – especially for bigger issues.
One study demonstrated this phenomenon by examining the problem-solving skills of people who slept well in comparison to those who didn’t. What the researchers found was quite interesting; the “sleep group” was, as expected, better able to problem-solve than the “no sleep group,” but this effect only applied to more major problems!
Therefore, feeling well-rested may help us tackle issues we deem to be most important because most of our mental energy (asleep or awake) is allocated to these.5
4. Sleep Enhances Learning and Memory
When we sleep, we subconsciously replay events or information in our minds – potentially even more so than when we’re awake. While the processes behind how learning and memory are improved by sleep are still being researched, it’s currently thought that the new events we experience when awake are replayed and sent out to different parts of our brains when asleep.
In other words, sleep helps us to learn from new experiences, turn these into memories, and use them to our advantage moving forward.6
5. Sleep Keeps Us Physically Healthy
Sleep isn’t just important for our mental health, it’s also necessary for good physical health. When we sleep well, we release hormones that repair cells and tissues in the body. It also lowers our heart and breathing rate, allowing for good heart health as our blood pressure balances.
In fact, studies have even shown that a lack of sleep can increase the risk of obesity, heart disease, and physical infections. All of this evidence demonstrates that to live by the saying “Happy body, happy mind” may start with feeling rested.7
6. Sleep Reduces Stress Levels
Stress is unavoidable sometimes, whether it’s from an increased workload in your job, an argument with a loved one, or financial concerns from the increase in the cost of living.
Yet, some people seem to be able to better manage stress than others – leading to the question of “Why?” One possible answer for why some people are better able to manage stress might come down to the amount of sleep they get.
When we’re stressed, our bodies release stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline, which can keep us up at night. In comparison, a good night’s rest can have an “anti-stress” effect as it helps us to regulate stress hormones, balance our emotions, and improve our problem-solving skills.8
7. Sleep Balances Mood
It’s probably not difficult to grasp the concept that poor sleep can lead to a bad mood – we all experience it from time to time. Yet, most people assume that it’s just one night’s poor sleep that influences mood. However, research shows that it’s a build-up of disturbed sleep over time that affects our mood.
So, if you have poor sleep as a once-off, you might not struggle with mood issues too much, but broken sleep over time might take longer to recover from and affect your mood for longer. This might mean making good sleep practices part of your everyday routine rather than focusing on them only after a night’s bad sleep.9
8. Sleep Boosts Self-Esteem
While we may easily recognize the relationship between sleep and mood, we might not as quickly understand how sleep is linked to self-esteem. Research has shown that sleeping the recommended amount of time per night leads to more positive personality traits, such as optimism, which, in turn, can boost self-esteem. Interestingly, this effect was only found for seven hours of sleep – sleeping more or less than this amount actually appeared to reduce esteem levels.10
9. Sleep Reduces the Risk of Developing Mental Health Conditions
Mood disorders and mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression are widely experienced and researched. Yet, while many people recognize the link between mental health and sleep quality – including the amount of sleep we get – not that many consider how a lack of sleep can contribute to the experience of mental health issues.
It’s now understood that interventions designed for sleep disturbances can reduce the risk of experiencing mental health issues, so taking steps to improve sleep can lead to overall better mental well-being.11
10. Sleep Leads to Healthier Relationships
By this stage, the mental health benefits of sleep are clear; sleep can improve mood, reduce stress, enhance physical well-being, and help us problem-solve. Therefore, it will come as no surprise that a good amount of sleep can lead to better relationships with those we love.
Most of us can relate to how a bad night’s sleep can leave us feeling grumpy and irritable, which leads to poor communication and arguments with those around us. In contrast, when we feel well rested, our relationships flourish as we feel more patient, able to control our emotions, and willing to come to a balanced compromise with others if an agreement needs to be made.12
Improving Sleep for Better Mental Health
As is clear, the relationship between sleep and mental health is pretty straightforward; sleeping the recommended amount each night boosts our mood, problem-solving skills, decision-making, mental and physical health, and relationships. Yet, sometimes, understanding how to achieve good sleep is easier said than done – especially in the case of sleep disorders and mental health.
How sleep affects mental health can vary from person to person, but if you struggle with sleep due to increased stress, anxiety, or life circumstances, there are steps you can take to improve your patterns. According to the Sleep Foundation, you can improve your sleep and mental health by:
- Making sure you have a comfortable mattress and bedding
- Blocking out excess light
- Minimizing noise
- Ensuring that your bedroom is neither too hot nor too cold
- Getting at least seven hours of sleep
- Exercising for 20 minutes minimum every day
- Keeping a daily wake-up and go-to-bed routine
- Avoiding devices such as mobile phones before bed
- Limiting caffeine intake in the evenings
- Getting at least 30 minutes of natural daylight per day
When to Seek Help for Sleep Problems
If you or someone you know is struggling with their sleep patterns to the extent that it’s affecting your mental health, support and guidance is available.
At Mission Connection, we offer comprehensive, flexible care to foster better sleep and mental health. Our licensed, empathetic therapists and clinicians can help you understand and improve any mental health issue that is disturbing your sleep – ensuring the best chances at long-term success and better well-being.
Reaching out is the first step towards better health, and Mission Connection is here to help. Call us today for support and guidance.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). About sleep. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved January 21, 2025, from https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/about/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/about_sleep/how_much_sleep.html
- Hafner, M., Stepanek, M., Taylor, J., & Troxel, W. M. (2017). Why sleep matters—The economic costs of insufficient sleep: A cross-country comparative analysis. Rand Health Quarterly, 6(4), 11. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5627640/
- Vandekerckhove, M. (2017). Emotion, emotion regulation and sleep: An intimate relationship. AIMS Neuroscience, 5(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.3934/Neuroscience.2018.1.1
- Whitney, P., Hinson, J. M., Jackson, M. L., & Van Dongen, H. P. (2015). Feedback Blunting: Total Sleep Deprivation Impairs Decision Making that Requires Updating Based on Feedback. Sleep, 38(5), 745-754. https://doi.org/10.5665/sleep.4668
- Sio, U. N., Monaghan, P., & Ormerod, T. (2013). Sleep on it, but only if it is difficult: Effects of sleep on problem solving. Memory & Cognition, 41(1), 159-166. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-012-0263-8
- Brodt, S., Inostroza, M., Niethard, N., & Born, J. (2023). Sleep—A brain-state serving systems memory consolidation. Neuron, 111(7), 1050-1075. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2023.03.005
- National Institutes of Health. (2013, April). The benefits of slumber. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved January 21, 2025, from https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2013/04/benefits-slumber
- American Psychological Association. (2013, August 7). Sleep and stress: How sleep affects our ability to handle stress. American Psychological Association. Retrieved January 21, 2025, from https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2013/sleep
- Hughes, J. C., & Lee, K. (1997). The effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance: Implications for decision making and emotional regulation. Journal of Sleep Research, 6(3), 175–182. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2869.1997.tb00090.x
- Groot, P., & Votaw, D. (2012). The effects of sleep on cognitive performance: A systematic review. University of Basel. Retrieved January 21, 2025, from https://edoc.unibas.ch/23222/1/20121031180033_50915931ddffa.pdf
- Freeman, D., Sheaves, B., Waite, F., Harvey, A. G., & Harrison, P. J. (2020). Sleep disturbance and psychiatric disorders. The Lancet Psychiatry, 7(8), 677-685. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30136-X
- Rosen, A. (2023, September 18). Is poor sleep quality sabotaging your relationships? Psychology Today. Retrieved January 21, 2025, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/dating-and-mating/202309/is-poor-sleep-quality-sabotaging-your-relationships
