How Sleep Affects Your Mental Health and the Importance of Sleep Hygiene

For those who don’t know, the first week of March marks Sleep Awareness Week! In today’s fast-paced society, it’s common for us to sacrifice our quality of sleep for more productivity, entertainment, socializing, or other obligations. However, quality sleep is one of the cornerstones of good mental health! Neglecting sleep can have a variety of detrimental impacts on your well-being, such as heightened stress, increased anxiety and depression symptoms, and a reduced ability to perform daily tasks. Furthermore, poor sleep habits can exacerbate emotional distress and decrease mental capacity – making little annoyances seem like big triggers. So what’s the good news? The good news is anyone can work on establishing proper sleep hygiene, which can greatly improve sleep quality and overall well-being!

How Exactly Does Sleep Affect Your Mental Health?

Sleep is a fundamental biological mechanism in our body. It plays a key role in emotional regulation, cognitive function, and overall psychological resilience. When we don’t get adequate sleep, our brain struggles to perform activities such as processing emotions, thinking critically, managing stress, and maintaining focus. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, sleep deficiency has also been linked to depression, suicide, and risk-taking behavior. Additionally, persistent lack of sleep can also exacerbate existing depression and anxiety symptoms. Has something small that would ordinarily not frustrate you seem like a huge trigger when you’re sleep deprived? That’s because the amygdala–the brain’s emotional processing center–becomes dysregulated when you’re not getting adequate sleep, which leads to increased mood swings and trouble regulating emotions.

Now, there’s a lot of negative impacts that come from not sleeping enough. However, when you are sleeping well you might receive great benefits, too, such as improving your mood, helping you feel active and aware, and helping you deal with daily stressors. Restorative sleep has positive implications on your physical health as well, such as helping your body heal from wounds, balancing your hormones, lowering your risk of disease, and aiding your body in natural growth and development. As you can see, sleep is crucial for both our mental and physical health!

What Is Sleep Hygiene?

Simply put, sleep hygiene is a set of practices and habits that promote better, more restorative sleep. Think about personal hygiene, such as showering daily or brushing your teeth twice a day. These practices help you stay healthy throughout your life. Similarly, sleep hygiene ensures you maintain good practices that allow you to sleep soundly every night.

Tips for Practicing Good Sleep Hygiene

Maintain a Consistent Sleep Schedule

Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day helps regulate your body’s internal clock – also called your circadian rhythm. This is especially important on weekends, when we often sleep in. This maintained structure can enhance sleep quality by keeping a consistent rhythm that reinforces your body's natural sleep-wake cycle.

Create a Relaxing Bedtime Routine

Practice participating in calming activities before bed, such as reading a book, taking a warm bath, meditating, or practicing deep breathing exercises. Oftentimes, we turn to Netflix or Instagram scrolling before bed, but these practices can be detrimental to our quality of sleep. Try avoiding stimulating activities like scrolling through social media, using the computer, or watching intense TV shows, as these habits can make you feel more alert and contribute to poorer sleep quality. Furthermore, the blue light from electronics can disrupt your body’s natural melatonin production – making it even more difficult to fall asleep.

Maintain a Proper Environment for Sleep

Ensure that your bedroom serves as a sanctuary for sleep. Making sure the room remains cool, dark, and quiet can promote a more relaxing atmosphere conducive to proper sleep. Light is the body’s natural trigger to wake up. If you receive a lot of light exposure from outside, consider investing in blackout curtains. Additionally, it can be hard to sleep with a lot of noise. White noise machines can be a great tool to use in instances where you may live in a noisier environment, such as the city.

Limit Caffeine and Alcohol Intake

Be sure not to drink coffee or any other caffeinated beverages too late in the day, as caffeine can stay in your body for multiple hours and result in difficulty falling asleep. Additionally, while alcohol can make you drowsy, it also can disrupt sleep cycles and reduce the quality of your sleep. Try to avoid these substances leading up to bedtime.

Engage in Routine Exercise

Regular physical activity during the day can be great for improving sleep quality! Make sure, however, not to exercise too close to bedtime. The elevated heart rate and body temperature that comes from strenuous physical activity may wake your body up and make it harder to fall asleep. Instead, exercising in the morning or early afternoon may be most beneficial.

Steer Clear of Long Naps

Short 20 to 30-minute-long naps can be beneficial for improving energy levels throughout the day. However, excessive napping during the day can disrupt your natural circadian rhythm – making it more difficult to fall asleep at night.

Get Some Sunlight

Let yourself enjoy the sun for at least a little bit every day! This can be especially helpful when done in the morning, as natural sunlight indicates to the body that it’s time to wake up and get ready for the day. This is beneficial for the body’s natural circadian rhythm, which will subsequently help your body fall asleep easier at night. Morning sun exposure can even result in a burst of energy that can help you get a head start in your morning routine – a double win!

Manage Your Stress and Anxiety

Have you ever laid in bed at night and weren’t able to fall asleep because your mind kept racing? This is more common than you may think! Stress and anxiety are huge barriers to restorative sleep. It may help to practice relaxation techniques such as meditation, journaling, or progressive muscle relaxation to help your mind calm down at the end of the day. If intrusive thoughts are keeping you awake, it may be helpful to keep a journal by your bedside to express your thoughts on paper. Doing this can sometimes feel cathartic and result in your mind beginning to rest. However, sometimes you may experience chronic difficulties going to sleep due to stress and anxiety. When this happens, it may be beneficial to speak to a mental health professional who can help you work through these symptoms.

All in all…

Practicing proper sleep hygiene is an important step in improving both physical and mental well-being. Our modern society can often encourage prioritizing productivity over proper sleep. However, our most optimal level of functioning comes from the right balance of proper rest and productivity! Try implementing some of the tips in this article and see how your life changes. By creating a lifestyle that prioritizes restorative sleep, you might notice some great benefits to your mental and physical health, as well as in your ability to stay productive!

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Calvin HuiMarch 7, 2025