IInstead of lying awake worrying, we’re often told to “not notice” when making decisions, both big and small. And there is actually a scientific basis for this advice. Sleep can influence our response to emotional situations and help us monitor our mental health.
To understand why sleep and emotions are so connected, it’s important to first understand what happens in the brain when we encounter something emotional.
Two main brain regions interact to create emotional responses. The first is the limbic system, which is located deep in our brain. This acts as our center of emotions, quickly assessing a situation and helping us decide how to react. Historically, this region may have been important for the survival of mankindsince it helps us to react quickly in certain situations, if we meet a dangerous predator, for example.
But most of the time we need to adjust our initial emotional response. This is where the second region, the prefrontal cortex, comes in. Located just behind our forehead, the prefrontal cortex helps us dial up or down our emotional responses as needed. So if we see a predator (like a bear) at the zoo, the prefrontal cortex tells us not to panic because it’s in an enclosure.
These regions must be well connected to effectively generate and adjust our emotional responses. This is where sleep comes in. When we’re sleep deprived, connections between these areas weaken, making the reaction in the limbic system stronger. Sleep loss not only increases our reaction to stressful events during the day, it also makes these reactions more difficult to change. This can be particularly pronounced if you lose REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.
Studies show that poor sleep makes us more likely to choose less effective ways of managing our emotions which could have a ripple effect for our mental health. Imagine that you are experiencing a difficult work problem. If you are well rested, you are more likely to be able to solve problems effectively, solving the problem. But if you’re sleep deprived, you may avoid dealing with the problem. Over time, this could have a negative effect on well-being.
Sleep is also crucial for processing and consolidating the memories of our day. When we have emotional experiences, sleep helps us remember these events and eliminate associated feelings. This happens in REM sleep, when activity in most brain regions is similar to when we are awake. By reactivating memories during REM sleep, the associated feelings can be removed from memory content. This is why “sleeping on it” can really help you feel better in the morning. In fact, studies have shown that, over time, improving sleep can lead to less anxiety, depression and stressand increased satisfaction with life.
a good night rest
If you want to keep your emotions and mental health in check, here are the best ways to get a good night sleep:
- Keep a consistent time to go to bed and wake up – even on your days off. This helps get your body clock into a rut, improving your sleep. Having a big change in sleep time between work and days off is known as “social jet lag”, which can be associated with increased anxiety.
- Seek natural light in the morning and avoid blue light at night. Our biological clock is strongly affected by light. It affects a part of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which releases a sleep hormone called melatonin. Receiving natural light in the morning helps us suppress melatonin, which improves our mood and makes us feel more alert. The blue light found in electronic devices also minimizes melatonin. This means that the use of electronic devices at night can make it take longer for us to feel sleepy. Therefore, we recommend that you turn them off or set them to “night mode” an hour before going to bed.
- avoid certain substances – such as alcohol, caffeine and nicotine. Caffeine and nicotine are stimulants, which can interfere with how our bodies work. drive to sleep. It is better to avoid them, especially in the afternoon and at night, when our body prepares to sleep. Alcohol also changes the structure of our sleep, making us more likely to wake up overnight. Studies also show that daily alcohol consumption can decrease sleep quality, especially for people with anxiety.
- Give yourself time to relax before bed. Make sure your bedroom is comfortable, cool, quiet, and dark to minimize the chances of being disturbed. Before bed, try using relaxation or mindfulness techniques, which have been linked to both better sleep quality and better general mental health.
Getting a good night’s sleep can do wonders for improving our mental health. But it does not stop there. Sleeping well can also improve our memory, attention and another thought processes. It also benefits various aspects of our physical health, including our weight and heartmaking sleep an important priority for all aspects of our well-being.
Professor of Psychology, University of East Anglia.
This article is republished from The conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the Original article.
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