When you’re facing mental health issues, getting a good night’s sleep can be difficult. The same distressing thoughts that distract and disturb you during the day can keep you wide awake come bedtime. Sleep and mental health issues exacerbate each other. Each night without proper rest leads to less sleep and more distress.
Fortunately, you can target some of the outside factors that make it hard to fall asleep. By giving your mind and body the best chance to get a good night’s rest, you set yourself up for an improved mood and more energy. HydroNaturals takes a look at a few of the things that might be preventing your shut-eye, and how to fix them.
Sleep Environment
Creating a great sleep environment is one of the simplest steps toward a good night’s sleep, but many people overlook it. Take a look around your room at night: Is it messy? Organized Interiors notes that a cluttered bedroom can increase anxiety, so take a little bit of time to tidy up. Can you see work-related items like paperwork, a backpack, or a briefcase? Move it to another room or out of sight – your bedroom should put you in the mood for sleep, not remind you of the office.
Consider whether anything in your room needs an upgrade. For example, if you’re sleeping on an old mattress, it may have degraded in ways that make sleep harder. A new memory foam mattress might be a good solution. Since they come in a variety of firmness levels, they work well for many different body types and sleeping styles. Your blinds or curtains could need an upgrade as well. If they let in a lot of light from outside, investing in some blackout curtains can make a world of difference.
Keep in mind, too, that creating the right overall environment for sleep starts before you even enter your bedroom. If you’re experiencing an abundance of stress, then you’re likely to have trouble getting to sleep. Stress is inevitable, but when it’s uncontrolled, it can take a significant toll on your physical, emotional and mental health. You may want to utilize stress relief techniques such as breathing exercises to help you relax and drift off to sleep.
Similarly, if you’re eating the wrong foods before bed or not getting enough exercise, these factors can also cause trouble sleeping. Making smart lifestyle choices -- finding ways to reduce stress and improving diet and exercise -- are all essential steps in creating a great sleep environment.
Your Furry Friend
Our beloved animals can be a great source of comfort, but Healthline asserts they might do more harm than good in the bedroom. Our pets don’t always share our schedules, and their nighttime activities can wake us up, even if we don’t wake up enough to realize it. Even a pet just sleeping on your bed adds extra sound and movement that can pull you out of needed sleep stages.
Close the door and leave your pet out of the room for the night. If that would distress them, consider getting them a crate so that they can den in the room with you without waking you up. This can be a hard habit to break, so if you have a puppy, start now. You should pick a crate that can adjust to fit your dog as they grow, and they’ll be used to being in their own sleep space from the start. You can also get crates that come with plush mats so your dog is cozy at night, or add a comfortable dog bed inside the crate.
How You Handle Sleeplessness
This might be familiar: You try to go to sleep. It doesn’t work. You either don’t fall asleep at all, or you doze and wake up. You look at the clock and do the math to see how much sleep you could get if you fell asleep right now. You repeat this again and again till morning.
This is a common pattern, but it’s one of the worst things you can do for yourself. Instead of ruminating when you can’t get to sleep, get out of bed and do something restful like reading a book in low light or drinking a small cup of herbal tea. This resets your brain’s anxiety cycles and allows you to try again with the right attitude.
Do not get on your phone or laptop during this time – the blue light from the screen will make your brain more alert. Also, consider turning your alarm clock around so that you can’t see the time when you wake up at night – you’re just stressing yourself out, and counting the hours won’t give you more hours to sleep, anyway.
These are just a few of the simple things you can do to make sleep easier. Give yourself the best chance at a good night’s rest, and the odds are good you’ll find your mood and outlook improve in kind.
