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.
