Your Sleep Patterns Can Affect Your Mood

Insomnia is not a fun thing. The idea of not being able to sleep strikes fear in the hearts of many. Whether you are already an insomniac or are looking to prevent insomnia, the advice below can help.

Regular exercise can promote heathy sleeping habits and decrease the chances of insomnia. Exercising every day for at least 30 minutes will help you sleep longer and better. Avoid exercising within a 3 hour period before bedtime. Exercising too close to your bedtime can stimulate your body and keep you from falling asleep.

Get out into the sunshine every day. Seeing the natural light of the sun allows your body to differentiate between daytime and nighttime. It also helps your body produce melatonin, which helps your body maintain a regular pattern of sleep. Without an adequate amount of melatonin, your body may not be able to regulate proper sleep-wake patterns.

Try massaging your stomach. Stimulating your stomach with a good tummy rub is actually a good thing for beating insomnia. Your digestion improves and your body relaxes. You probably would never think that your stomach might be the problem, so this could be the tip you've been waiting for!

Keep a sleep diary, if insomnia has become a major problem in your life. Record what time you go to bed and get up, as well as how long (approximately) it took you to fall asleep. Log meals, beverages, exercise and any major events that may impede sleep. Use the information to narrow down causes for insomnia and to find a workaround.

Your bed should be comfortable. Use pillows as necessary and wash your linen regularly. Check the temperature in your bedroom before you go to sleep. You may have more difficulty sleeping in a room that is either too hot or too cold. Open a window for fresh air or get a fan for air circulation.

Don't make your bed the hub for all your activity. Your bed should only be for sleeping. If you are always trying to do other things in bed, your body knows that and isn't quite sure what it is there for. Make sure that you keep other activity out of bed and you'll fall asleep better.

Being bored can actually make way for its own stress and anxiety. Give yourself something to look forward to each day and to get excited about. Schedule an event for your future and when lying in bed, think about how great or fun that event will be. You can find local events in your newspaper or just plan a gathering of friends and family.

Your bedroom should be an environment that is designed for restful sleep. It needs to be dark, quiet and comfortable. Keep it at a temperature that is not too cold or too hot. When you combine all these things together, your bedroom will be the perfect environment to sleep in and you will not have trouble falling asleep.

Put down that coffee and soda. Avoid any caffeinated foods and drinks within 6 hours of the time you want to go to bed. You may not feel the kick that caffeine has, but it will make it more difficult for you to get to sleep. Opt for water or even a sleepy time tea that will help.

Set your alarm clock for a good hour to get up. If you let yourself sleep too much, this boosts your chances of sleeping poorly the next night. You don't need more than 6-8 hours of sleep.

You don't need to continue to suffer from insomnia anymore. Rather, have confidence in your new-found knowledge and ability to defeat insomnia. Thanks to the ideas presented here, you have the power to get a good night's sleep.

Why your sleep and wake cycles affect your mood - Harvard Health Blog - Harvard Health Publishing

How does circadian rhythm work?

Our circadian rhythms are controlled by multiple genes and are responsible for a variety of important functions, including daily fluctuations in wakefulness, body temperature, metabolism, digestion, and hunger. Circadian rhythm also controls memory consolidation (the formation of long-term memories occurs during sleep); the timing of hormone secretion (for example, the hormones controlling body growth work mostly at night); and body healing.While the circadian sleep phase typically occurs at night, there are a range of times during which the sleep phase can occur, with some people programmed to sleep from early evening to early morning (known as morning larks), while others stay up late and sleep late (known as night owls). In addition to determining the timing of their sleep, a person’s circadian tendency can also affect their choice of emotional coping skills, such as assertiveness or rationalization, and their predisposition to psychological disorders.

How does your circadian rhythm impact your mood?

An irregular circadian rhythm can have a negative effect on a person’s ability to sleep and function properly, and can result in a number of health problems, including mood disorders such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and seasonal affective disorder.A recent study suggested that the night-owl type might have a greater predisposition to psychological disturbances. The authors found that the different circadian types were likely to have different coping styles to emotional stressors, and the ones adopted by the morning larks seemed to result in better outcomes and fewer psychological problems. This was a correlational study, so the reason for adopting different styles wasn’t explained, but this study emphasizes the great impact circadian rhythms have on health and functioning.

Depression and circadian rhythm

Most of the evidence on the relationship between mood problems and circadian rhythm comes from studies of shift workers, whose sleep periods are out of sync with their circadian rhythm. Multiple studies show an increased prevalence of depression in night-shift workers. One meta-analysis showed that night-shift workers are 40% more likely to develop depression than daytime workers. Conversely, circadian rhythm disturbances are common in people with depression, who often have changes in the pattern of their sleep, their hormone rhythms, and body temperature rhythms.Symptoms of depression may also have a circadian rhythm, as some people experience more severe symptoms in the morning. The severity of a person’s depression correlates with the degree of misalignment of the circadian and sleep cycles.Many successful treatments of depression, including bright light therapy, wake therapy, and interpersonal and social rhythm therapy, also directly affect circadian rhythms. (For the impact of circadian rhythm on the occurrence and treatment of depression related to bipolar disorder, please see this blog post on light therapy for bipolar disorder.)

Further reading: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/why-your-sleep-and-wake-cycles-affect-your-mood-2020051319792

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