To mark Sleeptember we asked our Sleep and Circadian Science Network LEAP for answers to some of your most-asked questions on sleep and mental health.
How to get a good night’s sleep is a question many of us will have wrestled with in the wee hours of the morning.
So to mark Sleeptember, we looked to research and to the YPAG (Young People’s Advisory Group) of our Sleep and Circadian Science network project for some answers. First, a quick look at circadian rhythms.
Sleep and circadian rhythms
Circadian rhythms are vital for all life on earth. Our circadian rhythms are like our own internal body clock: it helps keep our sleep patterns consistent, aligns daily cycles of day and night (light and dark), in turn promoting good quality sleep.
There are several factors which can throw off our rhythms, such as lack of sleep routine (going to bed late), shift work, medical conditions, use of alcohol and drugs. Sometimes these factors can lead to sleep problems, which can impact mental health.
Many mental health issues (anxiety, depression and psychosis) are also associated with sleep problems, but there’s still a lot of work to do to find out exactly why.
The Circadian Mental Health Network, led by the University of Edinburgh, wants to bridge the gap by bringing together sleep experts (both professionally and with lived experience), skill them up, and design high quality, much needed research on sleep and mental health.
In the first stage of the project, we asked the public to share their top questions about sleep and mental health. Here are three, with answers from research and advice and experiences from the project LEAP.
Being depressed makes it hard to sustain all the good habits that improve the quality of my sleep, such as following a healthy diet, getting plenty of exercise and spending time outdoors in the daylight.
LEAP member
Does our mental health make it difficult to sleep?
The first question that came up is to what extent our mental health and sleep are linked. The responses – both from research and from the LEAP – strongly suggest they are.
Mind says there’s a close relationship between sleep and mental health: “Living with a mental health problem can affect how well you sleep, and poor sleep can have a negative impact on your mental health.”
The Mental Health Foundation delves deeper into how different mental health issues can affect sleep, from medication to depression and PTSD.
One LEAP member agrees:
“Our mental health most definitely makes it difficult to sleep! Or at least mine certainly does.
“I live with bipolar disorder and when I have an elevated mood (hypomania) I tend to get a lot less sleep, partly due to having a “racing mind’ where my thoughts speed up and keep me wide awake for hours.
“At the other end of the scale, when I suffer from depression I can find it very hard to stay awake all day, but if I have a nap during the day it makes it much harder for me to sleep at night as the sleep pressure is reduced.
“Being depressed makes it hard to sustain all the good habits that improve the quality of my sleep, such as following a healthy diet, getting plenty of exercise and spending time outdoors in the daylight. I can turn into a bit of a recluse and stay indoors all day, which leads to much worse sleep.
“Another issue is having nightmares, which can lead to me waking up feeling stressed and exhausted.”
LEAP member Dylan said that having ADHD and anxiety it can be really difficult to sleep, due to overthinking and ruminating on thoughts, actions and possible ‘what-ifs’.
“Generally, poor mental health can make it really difficult to sleep, or you can have the opposite issue and sleep too much with issues like depression.
“It can be a difficult cycle to break so it is important to get support for your mental health and find a routine or pattern that works best for you and your individual circumstances.
“Although we all lead busy and complex lives, we need to be kind to ourselves and remember that rest is paramount to our mental and physical wellbeing.”
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The key foundation to getting a good night's sleep is having discipline. It is important to set boundaries for yourself and create good habits.
LEAP member
How can you get a good night’s sleep?
Now that we know there is a link, the next big question is how to get a good night’s sleep.
There are a few common tips across the board, for example, this study from the US Department of Health & Human Services suggests sticking to a sleep schedule, exercising (but not too late in the day), and avoiding caffeine and nicotine.
The NHS recommends a good wind-down routine and mindfulness for sleep, and shares sources of support for sleep problems.
The Mental Health Foundation believes a tech-free bedtime is key, as well as keeping a sleep diary, while Mental Health UK says a regular sleeping pattern and monitoring things like commutes during your day can help.
Many studies also mention other environmental factors that could be influencing sleep, such as temperature, light and noise, and the importance of creating a relaxing environment.
When we asked our LEAP for their advice, it lined up with a lot of the research out there.
One member looked at the link between sleep and tech: “I think the key foundation to getting a good night’s sleep is having discipline. It is important to set boundaries for yourself and create good habits. A relatively simple boundary is not using your phone, or any screens, past a certain time.
“I understand that apps are often designed to pull the user in to spend more time on an app. However, I get around this by creating a habit to put my phone away from my arms reach, when I am getting into bed (for example on my desk, which is in the other corner of my room).
“This way I am less likely to use my phone, as I am required to get out of bed again. I also use a blue light filter on my devices, to help prevent eye strain.”
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I try as much as possible to stick to waking up at a similar time each day and going to bed each night at a similar time. I tie this into when I eat too and aim to always eat around a similar time.
LEAP member
How do you create a healthy sleeping pattern?
The third question that came up a lot in the survey was more specific, around how to create a healthy sleeping pattern.
Research suggests that consistency is key, with the Sleep Foundation highlighting ‘sleep hygiene’ – which essentially is just a bedtime routine for adults.
A LEAP member shared the importance of daylight in their routine: “I try to ensure that I get out into the daylight as early as possible in the morning: it helps that I’ve got a dog that needs walking!
“I also try to go for a walk at around sunset as I know that there are receptors at the back of the eye that use the light at these times of day to keep the sleep/wake cycle on track.”
Another mentioned accountability:
“As someone who is pretty much permanently tired I find it very difficult to leave bed in the morning, which makes sticking to a regular wake up time quite difficult as I will always want to stay in bed a little bit longer.
“However, if I’m held accountable by say going to the office, or meeting a friend at a certain time in the morning then I will leave my bed when my alarm goes off.
“I try as much as possible to stick to waking up at a similar time each day and going to bed each night at a similar time. I tie this into when I eat too and aim to always eat around a similar time.
“As I also struggle enforcing a bed time, as I often find I’m more productive in the evening, I have set up “downtime” on my phone which prevents me from accessing must apps on my phone so I won’t get distracted whilst winding down or wake my mind up by texting or searching things online.”
There are lots of tips that come up regularly when it comes to getting a good night’s sleep, but we’ll leave you with one piece of advice from the LEAP that summarises things perfectly:
“Different people handle their mental health difficulty. I think it’s important people find their own way to do so, as long as it is healthy and does not cause harm to yourself or others.”
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Do you think your sleep and mental health are linked? Let us know your top tips for a good night’s sleep on the McPin Foundation X and Instagram!
Find out more about the Sleep and Circadian Science network on our project page.
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