People with panic disorder and other anxiety-related disorders may struggle with obtaining a full night of restful sleep. Specific sleep comorbidities may include insomnia and panic attacks. There is a relationship between sleep problems and these anxiety disorders, where an exacerbation of one can lead to issues with the other. Continue reading to find out why panic disorder and anxiety cause sleep issues, and what you can do to mitigate your sleep disturbances.
Sleep is important for a variety of reasons, but getting good sleep is not as easy as it seems. For some, sleep may actually seem impossible. For others, they may think they are getting good sleep, and think that it's normal to feel tired during the day. Although that midday slump hits, it is not normal to be excessively tired throughout the day. This is an indication of poor sleep. Although sleep disorders may be the cause of poor sleep, more often than not, poor sleep hygiene is. Unlearn some of those poor habits and begin sleeping well!
Sleep is vital for your overall health and mental health. Whether you aren't able to fall asleep easily, or experience too many waketimes throughout the night, the impact on your mental health can be severe.
The brain does a lot of restoration and recharging throughout the night, during sleep. If sleep is fragmented, or simply doesn't happen, then this can increase the risk for mental health disorders, fatigue, and increased stress levels.
Sleep is essential, and your sleep habits can tell you a lot about your mental health. So what's the best way to learn your sleep habits? Through a sleep study. Continue reading to learn more about what a sleep study can help you determine about your mental health.
Sleep plays a critical role in our lives, especially in terms of mental health and brain function. When sleep is disrupted, there are going to be negative consequences. Poor sleep can have severe effects mentally, emotionally, and physically. Significant health issues, like depression, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease are some serious consequences of poor sleep. Poor sleep can be caused by lifestyle and poor sleep behaviors, but in some, it can be caused by an underlying sleep disorder.
Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder where sleepers stop breathing periodically throughout the night. It can be categorized into three different types: obstructive, central, and mixed. Obstructive sleep apnea is very common, while central is more rare.
Learn why central sleep apnea occurs, and it's potential affect on mental health.
On this blog, we talk a lot about establishing a good sleep hygiene. Sleep hygiene is by far the best method for establishing a good sleep routine that leaves you feeling rested and ready to take on the day!
But what exactly is sleep hygiene? It's this term that is sort of thrown around without a lot of context. However, it is an important part of improving your sleep health. Therefore, it's important that you understand what it is, as well. Continue reading for a more in-depth explanation of what sleep hygiene actually is, so you can better implement it into your life.
Caffeine is stimulant that is used around the world to combat sleepiness. It is present in coffee, teas, sodas, and other supplements to help provide energy throughout the day. It is natural, but can also be synthetically produced.
Caffeine normally affects the body within about 30-60 minutes of consumption. It is efficiently distributed throughout the whole body and can cross the blood-brain barrier.
Inside the brain, it blocks a sleep-promoting chemical and can also interfere with the circadian melatonin rhythms. Caffeine has a half-life of 4-6 hours, which means that's how long it takes for approximately half of it to remain in your system. So, consuming caffeine in the evening could keep you up at night because of how long it takes your body to metabolize it.
Caffeine can have a significant impact on sleep, so it's important to understand how it works, and how you should be consuming it for optimal sleep health.
The art of sleeping is truly just that. It is not as simple as lying down and entering a peaceful slumber. Actually getting good quality sleep requires a multidimensional effort in terms of good sleep environment, a relaxed state of mind, and good sleep behavior.
Once you are able to "master" all three of these, then you can prepare yourself for a very restful night of sleep, consistently. A good sleep environment is one that is dark, quiet, and cold. If it's clean and decluttered, that also helps. A relaxed state of mind is achieved by doing relaxation techniques before going to bed, and trying to stress dump before it's time for sleep.
However, sleep behaviors can be a little more tricky to achieve because they require consistency and have to be individual to you! Sleep behaviors are the things you do before bed that prepare you to go to sleep. They are important because they get your body ready (or un-ready) to go to bed. Once you get a good pattern of sleep behaviors down, you can complete your triad of necessities for sleep.
So, in this article, we are going to talk about good and bad sleep behaviors, and what you can do to get ready for bed.
Sleep deprivation and excessive daytime sleepiness is a common issue in the United States. It can be very distressing for some people to get through their day because they are so tired. People who have sleep disorders, work night shifts, spend all night awake, may find themselves struggling to stay awake.
There is no cure for sleeplessness outside of simply getting a good night's rest. However there are some tricks to help you stay awake so that you can get through the day. Regardless of why you must stay awake, the next day must continue. Therefore, it is very helpful to know some tricks for how to stay awake. Continue reading to see if any of the following hacks can help you the next time you're in a sleep binder.
Family sleep habits tend to run in the family. Any sleep disorders that parents or grandparents have may be witnessed in children. These could be witnessed events, or events separated by 30 years (such as parents who sleepwalked as children and see their children sleepwalking).
Good sleep habits can be built as a family, but so do bad sleep habits and sleep disorders. A study found that 47% of families share good sleep and that 29% of families had shared poor sleep between mothers and teens.
This is not the first time this has been found. In 2022, the sleep foundation found that those who lived in multi-person households saw that those who lived with someone who had sleep issues also had sleep issues. The opposite was true, those that did not have sleep issues, 73.2% lived in households who also did not. Continue reading to learn more about why this connection occurs, and what can be done to develop good sleep habits for everyone.
Breaking up can be a really devastating event in your life. When you are emotionally, financially, and physically invested in someone, separating from them can be a truly heartbreaking series of events. The longer and more tangled you are with them, the more of your life that is disrupted and has to be changed.
One part of your life that my be particularly disrupted is your sleep. Post-breakup insomnia is a series issue. Not only are you going through this emotionally distressing time, but you are becoming sleep deprived. Sleep deprivation has its own set of consequences, including mood dysregulation, lack of attention, focus and memory, and reduced optimal functioning. Add a break up to that, and getting through the day may seem practically impossible.
Continue reading for some tips to help you get a good night's sleep, even if you are going through a heartbroken time.