Sleep and Mental Health Are True Bedfellows

Here's what's happening on the HealthyPlace site this week:

• Sleep and Mental Health Are True Bedfellows
• Most Popular HealthyPlace Articles Shared by Facebook Fans
• From the HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs

Sleep and Mental Health Are True Bedfellows

When it comes to sleep and mental health, this Ben Franklin quote comes to mind:

"Early to bed, early to rise makes a person healthy, wealthy, and wise."

Mr. Franklin said this in the days when modern psychology didn't exist; Sigmund Freud hadn't been born, nor had the American Psychological Association. Yet Ben still knew and promoted the value of a good night's sleep (develop good sleep habits). As it turns out, his adage about the importance of sleep to wellbeing is true and has been proven by modern science.

Sleep plays a vital role in mental health. Adults need about seven to nine hours of sleep each night. When someone's average is less than that, problems begin to occur. Emotional regulation becomes difficult, cognitive functioning diminishes (that "foggy," slowed-down feeling and difficulty completing tasks), memory becomes impaired, and behavior changes. Harvard Medical School warns that there's a strong connection between:

• sleep problems and anxiety
• sleep disorders and depression
• bipolar disorder and sleep problems
• attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and sleep disorders

Plus, sleep disorders exist in their own right.

Sleep and mental health are intricately related, and each affects the other. That can make brain-soothing sleep elusive; however, eating well, exercising, using relaxation techniques, and other sleep hygiene practices can help you get those z's and achieve the health, wealth, and wisdom old Ben touted.

Related Articles about Sleep and Mental Health

• Sleep Disorder Information, Resources, and Support
• The (Dysfunctional) Relationship Between Sleep and Anxiety
• The Importance of Sleep and Mental Illness
• The Importance of Sleep and Bipolar Disorder
• Sleep Disorder Treatment (Sleep Treatment)
• Sleep Disorders Test
• All Sleep Disorders Articles

Your Thoughts

Today's Question: How does sleep, or the lack of it, affect your mental health and wellbeing? We invite you to participate by commenting and sharing your feelings, experiences and knowledge on the HealthyPlace Facebook page.

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Most Popular HealthyPlace Articles Shared by Facebook Fans

Here are the top 3 mental health articles HealthyPlace Facebook fans are recommending you read:

1. Understanding Dissociative Identity Disorder Alters
2. Dealing with Down Days in Bipolar Disorder
3. Too Anxious To Speak Up?

If you're not already, I hope you'll join us/like us on Facebook too. There are a lot of wonderful, supportive people there.

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From the HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs

On all our blogs, your comments and observations are welcomed.

• The Link Between Trauma and Eating Disorders
• Why Animals May Help With Depression 
• Heightened Anxiety for No Reason? Four Ways to Handle It 
• Emotional Healing Enhanced By A Sense Of Worthiness 
• Asking for Help Because of Bipolar 
• How to Get Ready for a Therapy Appointment 
• Combat PTSD and Sleep Disturbances 
• About Jami DeLoe, Author of “Trauma! A PTSD Blog” 
• How to Start Socialising When You Have Low Self-Esteem and Why Self-Care is Important for Your Physical and Mental Health 
• Coming Out of the Mental Illness Closet 
• Video Games Can Help Reduce Mental Illness Stigma 
• Binge Eating Disorder and My Personal Experience 
• Living With People Who Don’t Understand Your Anxiety 
• Today I Don’t Feel Good Enough: 4 Steps To Improved Self-Esteem 
• When to Get Rid of Social Media Relationships 
• 3 Lessons Learned from the Deaths of Recovering Addicts / Alcoholics and Over-Prescription of Opioid Painkillers: A Deadly Problem 
• Schizoaffective Hypomania and Love 

Feel free to share your thoughts and comments at the bottom of any blog post. And visit the mental health blog homepage for the latest posts.

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