The Surprising Link Between Sleep and Mental Health

In a recent study, new polling data revealed that Americans aren’t getting enough sleep. 

This data mirrors findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Although the exact number varies by state, the CDC found that approximately 1 in 3 adults in the United States were getting insufficient sleep. In Hawaii, the figure was as high as 46% of adults reporting they don’t sleep enough. 

These statistics are concerning, as sleep deprivation can have a significant impact on a person’s overall well-being. 

While the connection between sleep and physical health is well known, the link between sleep and mental health is often overlooked. This article is a guide to everything you need to know about sleep, mental health, and how to improve it.

Sleep deprivation

Before exploring how sleep can boost mental health, it’s essential to understand sleep deprivation and how it impacts the body.

According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, sleep deprivation is a condition that occurs if you have one or more of the following:

• You don’t get enough sleep
• You sleep at the wrong time of day (e.g., afternoon)
• You have a sleep disorder
• Your sleep quality is low and is often disrupted

If you’re experiencing any or a combination of the above-listed scenarios regularly, this can cause sleep deprivation. Long-term sleep deprivation, lasting weeks or months, can take a severe toll on the body. This is because the human body needs sleep like it needs to eat and drink. Sleep plays a crucial role in regulating and releasing hormones, such as growth hormones, hunger hormones, melatonin, and cortisol.

Sleep deprivation directly affects the production of these hormones in the body, leading to deficits or imbalances, which have a direct impact on bodily processes. For example, a lack of these hormones can affect the body’s ability to heal and cause spikes in appetite.

Who does it affect?

Sleep deprivation can happen to anyone at any point in their life. It’s important to remember, however, that the amount of sleep a person needs to count as ‘sufficient’ will depend on factors like their age and personal preference. Some people’s bodies may need more sleep to feel well-rested, while others can go without. 

Below is a list outlining the average daily amount of sleep needed by age.

• Newborns: 14 to 17 hours.
• Infants: 12 to 16 hours, including naptime.
• Young children: 10 to 14 hours, including naptime.
• Teenagers: 8 to 10 hours.
• Adults: 7 to 9 hours.

Sleep & mental health

The link between sleep and mental health is multifactorial, and they can also influence each other, creating a negative feedback loop where one worsens the other. There’s a reason why, when someone is grumpy, we say they “woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”

The most obvious way sleep impacts mental health is through sleep deprivation. New research has found that the condition can hinder memory control, which can exacerbate existing mental health issues as they can’t suppress unwanted memories. 

Sleep deprivation also disrupts the balance of several hormones that have either a direct or indirect relationship with psychological well-being. Below are some of the hormones associated with sleep and their influence on mental health.

• Hunger hormones: The hunger hormones, ghrelin and leptin, regulate a person’s appetite and how full they feel after eating. Insufficient sleep can cause an imbalance with these hormones, causing people to overeat, leading to weight gain, which can then impact a person’s self-esteem and increase the chance of depression and anxiety.
  
• Cortisol: This hormone is also known as the ‘stress’ hormone, which controls various bodily functions, like metabolism and regulating blood pressure. Poor sleep increases cortisol levels, keeping your body in a constant state of stress, which can cause mood swings, depression, and anxiety.
  
• Melatonin: This hormone is naturally produced in the brain, meant to help control a person’s sleep cycle. When a person isn’t sleeping sufficiently, it can confuse their ‘body clock’, contributing to sleep deprivation. Imbalanced melatonin levels have also been linked to mood disorders.

Research has shown that poor mental health can also cause poor sleep. This is because conditions like depression and anxiety disrupt sleep patterns and cause bad sleep hygiene.

If you’re worried that sleep is affecting your psychological health, a qualified mental health professional who has completed a course like a Masters in Counseling Psychology can help.

Accruing sleep debt

Along with sleep deprivation, you also want to be aware of ‘sleep debt’. 

While the term isn’t new, new research has helped increase public awareness and outline just how bad constantly missing out on sleep can be. If you regularly miss sleep, the difference between how much sleep you need and how much you get builds up, turning into sleep debt (also known as a sleep deficit). 

Sleep debt can contribute to poor mental and physical health, as well as:

• Feeling fatigued
• Trouble focusing
• A weakened immune system
• Problems with processing and storing new information

Tips for improving your sleep

If you believe you may have sleep deprivation or a sleep disorder like insomnia, you should speak to a qualified professional. They can help with diagnosing the issue and provide a treatment plan.

Beyond treatment, through medication or therapy, there are ways you can try to improve your sleep by yourself. These include:

• Avoid naps in the late afternoon or evening.
• Engage in calming ‘wind down’ activities before bed.
• Limit screen time before bed; devices like phones emit blue light, which can disrupt melatonin production.
• Optimize your sleeping environment, removing any lights and ensuring your bed (and pillows) are comfortable.
• Limit your coffee intake—caffeine can disrupt and disturb sleep.
• Stick to a strict sleep schedule—going to bed and waking up at the same time every day. This helps reinforce your body clock and melatonin production. 

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