Sunday, August 6, 2017

Tips to manage Sleep and mental health problems



Introduction:

Sleep is a blessing for us because it refreshes the vital systems and parts of our body. After every deep sleep, you find every system fresh and ready for routine activities. Like other body functions, the sleep is also important for the mental health. The brain is the very first part of the body affects by sleeplessness. Basically, sleep and mental health are associated with each other. The deprivation of sleep leads to mental health problems, and mental disorders cause sleeplessness.
Along with mental health problems, sleep deficit also leads to many other health issues like loss of appetite, high/low blood pressure, headache, dizziness, doziness and body aches. You can get temporary relief from these problems with symptomatic treatment, but the permanent solution is the restoration of sleep. Therefore, a deep good sleep is necessary for your physical and mental health. In this article, you will read about the sleep and mental health problems.

Sleep and mental health - general causes of sleep deficit 

In certain conditions you know the importance of sleep for your health, but you either ignore or compromise this factor.  The sleep and mental health problems are usually associated with social, economic or relationship issues. You can control the sleep deficit by eliminating these factors because most of these are self-imposed.

Consciousness about career

The consciousness about the career urges you to work hard beyond your capabilities. For example, if you are assigned with a task which is directly associated with your career, you try to complete the task well in time. The stress of the mission and overwork leads to deprivation of sleep.

Over excitement

Over excitement and happiness also cause the deprivation of sleep. There are many events in our life which make us overexcited. Wait for the results after exams make you anxious and excited. Similarly, while celebrating the festive season, we forget to spare some time for the sleep. Such conditions lead to the lack of sleep which further leads to impairment of our mental health.

Inadequate environment

You need to have a deep sleep of 6-8 hours in a calm and dark environment. For infants and children, the sleeping hours are more than the adults. The unsuitable environment like noise and light can badly impair your sleep. If you are continuously exposed to such environment, you may suffer from sleep and mental health disorders.

Fear/apprehension

Fear is the enemy of sleep which rapidly develops the symptoms of mental health disorders. Although the fear is itself a mental health issue, in many cases, you can avoid this factor. You may be the victim of fear/ apprehension due to different reasons which can be prevented.

How does sleep affect the mental health?

The sleep and mental health issues are associated with each other. If you are facing sleep deficit problem for the prolonged time, it may cause psychiatric problems. Similarly, all the mental diseases develop sleep disorders in the patients. The loss of sleep aggravates the condition of mental illness. Apart from psychiatric illness, the temporary mental health issues also exist which can be cured by restoration of sleep.
·         The sleep is essential to regulate mood and emotional health. The first symptom of sleep deprivation on the brain is the emotional disturbance. After a deep and long sleep, the brain relaxes and restores your emotions. In deep sleep, the metabolic process slowdowns because of reduced body activities. The body temperature and blood circulation also decrease which reduces the pressure on brain cells.
·         During the rapid eye movement (REM) stage which is also known as the dream stage, the body temperature automatically increases. In this stage, the brain cells associated with the memory are activated which enhance your learning capabilities. So, the mental health issues related to REM stage are developed and aggravated when you do not achieve the optimal level of sleep.
·         Sleep and mental health disorders also impair your natural abilities like thinking, learning, reading, and writing. The impairment of fine movements of the body is occurred due to overstressed brain cells. Your concentration on the routine and novel tasks is impaired.
·         The prolonged sleep deficit reduces the blood supply to the tissues of the brain. The deficiency of blood supply leaves the hypoxic effects on the brain cells which increases your reaction time.

Sleep and mental health disorders relationship:

The sleep and mental health disorders have the close relationship with each other. Although, the causes may be different; however, the psychiatric problems lead to sleep disorders. The sleeplessness also aggravates the psychiatric issues. The following are the common psychiatric diseases directly associated with sleep.

ADHD insomnia (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorders):

ADHD is the combination of multiple symptoms of sleep and mental health problems. Mostly, the children having sleep disorders are diagnosed as the cases of ADHD. The shortening of sleep hours, restless slumbers, and difficulty in falling asleep are included in ADHD. You may also note restless legs syndrome and periodic limb movement disorders in the patients who have ADHD. Usually, these symptoms of Attention deficit hyperactivity disorders cause the disturbance in the normal sleeping duration.

Depression:

The depression is the most common psychiatric illness which severely affects the sleep pattern and duration. Depression reflects the strong relationship between sleep and mental health. The people with the prolonged sleep deficit are more prone to develop depression. Similarly, the sleeplessness is the very first symptom noticed in the patients with depression. Almost 70-80% patients suffering from depression have been found with the symptom of insomnia.

Bipolar disorders:

The patients with bipolar disorders have been found with insomnia in both the phases of this illness. In manic stage, the patient looks apprehensive with reduced sleep. The depressive episodes in bipolar disorders cause insomnia. Although the patients have been found with prolonged sleep in different stages of illness, the average sleep duration is reduced. You may notice the bipolar disorders patients with increased sleep, but there may be the irregularity in the timing.

Anxiety disorders:

Sleeplessness is the very first symptom of anxiety disorders. The anxiety disorders are followed by insomnia, nightmares and many other symptoms which impair the usual sleeping hours. The sleeping anxiety symptoms are correlated with each other. The diagnosis process becomes complicated because you cannot determine that whether the patient is suffering from insomnia or anxiety problem.

Conclusion:

The above discussion shows that the sleep and mental health have the great relationship. The regularity in work, rest and sleep hours is helpful to minimize many of the mental health issues including psychiatric disorders. Moreover, the restoration of sleep is the best tool for the management of psychiatric patients.

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