When our bodies are deprived of sleep, it can lead to many health problems. Sleep can affect your mood, whether in a positive or a negative way. Look at how sleep affects our mental health.
By Dr. Samir Parikh
It is a known fact that sleep makes us feel better. Often, we find ourselves craving for a holiday or a break from work just to catch up on our sleep. We should never forget the critical role of sleep in our lives. Sleeping serves a protective as well as an adaptive function, as it helps us preserve our physical as well as mental energy, while at the same time repairing and restoring our bodies’ resources that have been depleted after the day’s toiling.
We all have our own body clock, which operates on a 24-hour cycle, biologically attuned to make us feel sleepy when it’s dark and awaken us in the daylight.
Thus, sleep is essential to proper mental health. But, how much are the two important to each other? Cannot one have a sound mental health even if he suffers from sleep problems? Take a look.
Sleeping patterns are a marker of an individual’s physical as well as mental health. Sleep disorders, which are not restricted to insomnia, do come within the purview of mental disorders. Therefore, there is clearly a bi-directional relationship between one’s sleep cycle as well as mental health and well-being.
The following are some tips for sleep hygiene which are designed to enhance good sleeping and there is evidence that suggests that these strategies can provide long-term solutions to sleep difficulties.
Does your child have trouble falling asleep? Is his sleep always disturbed? Read the below article to find out how you can help him overcome these common sleep-related problems.
One of the ways to realize the importance of an adequate sleep is to consider the consequences of the time when we don’t get enough sleep:
The author is MBBS, DPM, MD(psy), Consultant Psychiatrist, Director-Department of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences.
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