Foundations of Mental Health: Sleep

Let’s talk sleep! Why? Because you probably aren’t getting enough quality sleep. And sleep is vital. Sleep is one of the most important things we can do for our physical and mental health! In fact, it’s foundational to support your well-being and is an incredibly productive use of time for us. Stress without rest just leads to more distress, more break down (physically and emotionally). Stress with rest leads to growth, learning, and improvement.

Here’s just some of the benefits you get from quality sleep:

Lowers stress and improves your mood,

Improves our ability to manage stress and emotions during the day

Boosts our memory and learning,

Increases our attention span,

Helps you learn and retain new information

Decreases risk of illness and injuries,

Supports weight management,

Maintains heart health

Regulates blood sugar

Promotes growth and tissue repair (aka builds muscles)

Without sleep, there is no learning, no remembering, no growth, no emotion regulation, no health…you get the idea. The point is, we only get the benefits of everything we do to improve ourselves and our lives if we get a good night’s sleep. Otherwise, we’re just wasting our time… Stress without rest just leads to more distress, more break down (physically and emotionally). Stress with rest leads to growth, learning, and improvement. So what can we do about it?

To get a better night’s sleep:

Create a sleep routine to signal your brain and body that it’s time to go to sleep. Keep it consistent by going to bed and waking up at the same time everyday

Keep your bedroom comfortable. It should be a relaxing environment. Dark, quiet, and cool (mid 60s) is best. It’s also best to use your bed only for sleep so your brain doesn’t connect it with other things such as answering texts or emails, doing work/homework, etc.

Get outside in the morning and expose yourself to natural sunlight early in the day. This will help set and maintain a healthy circadian rhythm. Some people use red light therapy if they get up when it’s still dark out.

Exercise in the morning or during the day. It helps boost natural sleep hormones. Don’t exercise too close to bed because it can be stimulating. You can get a two-for-one by taking a walk or doing some sort of exercise outside!

Avoid eating big meals (2-4 hours before bed), drinking alcohol (3 hours before bed), drinking caffeine (8-10 hours before bed).

Avoid screen time—tv, phone, computer, tablet, etc—2 hours before bed. It’s best not to have them in your bedroom.

Sleep is vital to our mental and physical health and overall wellbeing. And most of us don’t get enough… we view our exhaustion as badges of honor. All it really is doing is destroying our health and mental wellbeing. If you can do all the things you do now while (as many adults and teens are) chronically sleep deprived, imagine all you could do with quality sleep. Imagine how you would be able to show up in your life. For your family and friends. At work. While engaging in hobbies. For yourself…

This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only. It does not reflect the nuances of and is not a replacement for individual therapy.