Why getting enough sleep improves your mental health

According to recommendations of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society, you should sleep at least seven hours every night. Those who sleep less risk serious illnesses, such as diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure or even depression. In 50- 80% of patients in psychiatric treatment.

In this article, we'll show you what impact too little sleep can have on your mental health. Whether insufficient sleep is the cause or the effects of mental health problems may be debatable in some cases, but the causes of mental disorders are complex and cannot be attributed to lack of sleep alone. In the therapy of mental disorders, sufficient sleep and relaxation are always a part of the treatment. Those who ensure sufficient and relaxing sleep are definitely doing good for their mental health.

Sleep deprivation worsens memory, the ability to make decisions, react and concentrate.

With regard to mental health, it can be pointed out that too little sleep can be the cause of cognitive impairments of various kinds. Even one night with too little sleep leads to significant impairments. Some people react to sleep deprivation as they would to a blood alcohol concentration of 0.6 per mille. On average, the ability to react of a person who has 24 hours of sleep deprivation is comparable to the ability to act at 1.0 per mille blood alcohol. [3] Spectacular accidents such as reactor accidents or shipwrecks are often attributed to the overtiredness of the responsible persons, according to official investigation reports. Not to forget numerous everyday accidents on the road or at work and many more mishaps caused by lack of concentration due to overtiredness. When you hear a report on the radio that a vehicle has gone off the road for unexplained reasons, the reason is often driver fatigue. Patients who suffer from clouding of consciousness often also report that they have sleep problems; likewise, psychosis, anxiety and panic disorders, and post-traumatic disorders are often related to sleep deprivation. The relationship between sleep problems and depression is debatable, as indicated above. Is depression responsible for the sleep problems or vice versa? However, it is noticeable that depressed patients have deviations in the sleep cycle: less deep sleep and more dream sleep. In any case, it is important to clarify sleep problems.

The brain cleans itself during sleep

The brain requires 25% of the body's energy, and accordingly also produces many waste products that are disposed of primarily during sleep. Until recently, it was relatively unknown that the glymphatic system disposes of waste products via a lymphatic system of the meninges. It is even suspected that this very flushing of the brain is one reason why we sleep so long and deeply. Alzheimer's patients are known to have sleep disorders long before they are diagnosed. The storage of proteins in the brain, which is considered a cause of Alzheimer's disease, can thus possibly have a cause in lack of sleep. It is also suspected that Parkinson's disease or multiple sclerosis may result from a disturbance of this system. [2]

More sleep for better mental health

In this article, we explained why getting enough sleep is important for your mental health. In addition to the disorders mentioned here, there are other disorders and illnesses that are related to lack of sleep, such as depression, ADHD, anxiety disorders, or autism spectrum disorders. The reasons for these and other disorders are complex and cannot be attributed to lack of sleep alone, but you can minimize the risk of mental illness by eliminating the lack of sleep.

Sources:

[1] Elmenhorst, David and Eva-Maria (2018): Risk sleep deprivation spektrum.de
[2] NN (2018): Cleaning the brain pharmazeutische-zeitung.de.
[3] Mother, Rosalie (2021): Lack of sleep: these are the consequences css.ch
[4] Sleep and mental health. Sleep deprivation can affect your mental health health.harvard.edu