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Olivia Klanderman

Sharyn Hunter

Eng II

March 26,2021

How Does Sleep Affect Your Mental Health

Last summer is when I really struggled with my mental health. I would stay up all night

during the summer and would barely get any sleep. Some days I would function on three to four

hours of sleep a week. It didn’t really affect me, until I started going to school everyday. It was

hard getting back into the swing of things. It was definitely a challenge to go to bed before 1 AM

every night when I was so used to going to bed at 5 AM. It was definitely a change. Even though

I was having fun during my summer break, coming back to a daily routine of going to school,

then dance, to come home late at night to finish my homework, to do it all again the next day,

really took a toll on me. During this time period, my mental health decreased immensely. Even

though I was having fun when out with my friends, I used it as a distraction to what was truly

going on. I was mentally exhausted everyday and was slowly going into a depression. My friends

were the only thing making me happy at this time. The passion I had for dance was burnt out and

I honestly wanted to quit. School work was becoming more of a challenge since I was paying

attention in my classes. I felt that since my days were so full with activities, I never had any

freetime in my schedule. Due to this feeling, I would force myself to stay up longer than I needed

to. This would be part of the reason as to why I wasn’t sleeping. My mental health was spiraling

down, all due to me not sleeping. Sleep plays a very important role in your mental health. They

are connected in so many different ways. Getting the right amount of hours of sleep each and

every night is one of the most essential things you can do for yourself, but how much sleep isn't
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enough to the point where you're on the road potentially affecting your mental health? Sleep

deprivation is a serious issue that many teens face, yet they don't realize the ways in which it can

harm their everyday lives through their performance and health.

When you hear the word Sleep you might think of your bed or even about the dreams you

have had in the past. Many people's first thought wouldn’t be the concern for their mental health.

Sleep is a vital need for us as humans to survive, especially when you're young. During the

teenage years, one’s brain is still developing in the most important ways. Not getting enough

sleep can affect one’s development. Your mood and behavior can also be affected by simplifying

not getting enough rest every night. Sleep deprivation can lead to many serious issues with your

mental health, so it's important that you get the right amount of hours of sleep every night. In the

article “Mental Health and Sleep” it explains the connection between mental health and sleep

and how sleep could possibly help a mental disorder someone is struggling through. Many might

not realize that sleep could be the reason for a mental disorder. Lack of sleep can lead to many

mental disorders that are very common in teenagers these days. Sleep deprivation can cause

depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and other similar disorders. It’s very important for

teenagers to take care of their mental health, considering they are doing so much in their

everyday lives. With the stress of school and other factors in their life, mental health can

decrease at any point. And it would be even harder to go through their daily activities with little

to no sleep. So it is a key factor for teens to receive the correct amount of sleep every night.

Scientists recommend that teenagers should receive at least eight to ten hours of sleep

each night. Not Sleeping can affect your brain and body in many ways. It can affect how much

energy you have everyday or make you zone out more than usually. Lack of sleep can lead to

many serious health issues. Not sleeping can take a toll on your body that isn’t beneficial. Stress
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plays a big role in why someone isn’t sleeping. Stress can make you stay up for later hours or let

you sleep in more than you usually do. Stress affects your body and so does not sleeping. With

having little to no sleep at night and having stress can cause a person’s mood to switch up. Not

getting enough sleep can make it much more difficult for a person to manage minor stress.

Believe it or not, but not getting enough sleep can become a root of stress. Minor stress in your

life can cause you to lose sleep. Stress and sleep deprivation are not a good combination. Stress

and lack of sleep can cause one to become easily frustrated or angrier. A person wouldn’t have

much patience if they are more tired. Studies show that simple tasks could potentially be harder

to comprehend on little to no sleep. Lack of sleep can make it harder for someone to overcome a

minor inconvenience. A daily task could make a person more frustrated when they are tired

compared to when they are not. Sleep deprivation can affect someone’s behavior by making them

a more impatient and short-tempered person. Lack of sleep can also be a source of stress. To

solve this problem, one could make a night routine for themselves and try to follow it every

night. When going to bed, a person should be relaxed rather than worrying about what they will

be doing once they wake up. This could be considered a stressor in someone’s life.

Sleep disturbance can affect a person mentally and emotionally. If a person does not

receive the correct amount of hours of sleep each night, one’s behavior could be described as

crabby or easily irritated. Lack of sleep can affect your mood throughout the day as well. It could

make a person space off more and even become frustrated in certain situations. Lack of sleep can

really take a toll on your body and how your brain reacts to certain affairs. If someone is more

tired they most likely won’t perform as well as they can. Not sleeping can change your mood and

behavior in more negative ways than positive. A person who has not slept, might be more short

tempered or more likely to be in a “bad mood” rather than their bubbly self.
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Sleep deprivation can be one of the leading causes of depression. In articles it mentions

that depression and lack of sleep are closely related. Lack of sleep can be a serious factor of

depression and could even be the reason a person is depressed. Depression is a mental disorder

that could be described as one’s behavior becoming more depressed or sad. Depression can cause

a more depressed mood or disinterests in activities they once loved. Lack of sleep can be the

cause of someone’s depression. Certain sleep related disorders, like Insomnia, can maximize the

chance of developing depression or another mental disorder. This shows that due to lack of sleep,

your body will be less motivated to complete daily activities and will cause a change in behavior.

It is very common for a person who is depressed to also have insomnia. Depression can cause a

person to sleep less due to insomnia. Lack of sleep can worsen depression, but it can also lead to

other mental disorders.

Lack of sleep can also cause anxiety. Anxiety is a mental illness that can cause a person

to worry or overthink more than the average person. Anxiety is immensely connected with sleep

deprivation. Anxiety disorders are closely associated with sleep deprivation. Many people who

have to deal with anxiety, experience more interruptions while sleeping every night. In a study it

shows that people who suffer from anxiety are more likely to wake up during the night rather

than sleeping through it. Anxiety can cause more distributions and distractions while trying to

fall asleep. Lack of sleep and anxiety can really damage your mental health. People with anxiety

have a harder time falling asleep and staying asleep all night. Lack of sleep can make your

mental health plummet and your anxiety worse. If you develop an anxiety disorder from

insomnia, it will be harder for you to go to sleep. Your brain will not shut down until your body

cannot function anymore.

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Bipolar disorders and ADHD can also be connected with lack of sleep. Bipolar disorders

become progressively worse with a poor sleep schedule. Someone who suffers from bipolar

disorder might have trouble staying asleep at night. A person with bipolar disorder can have

mood swings that could affect their sleep schedule. Bad sleep habits can be a symptom of bipolar

disorder according to studies. Not sleeping enough can also cause a switch in mood for someone

who has this disorder. Depending on a person’s episodes their sleep patterns can change,

meaning that they could sleep more than usual or they sleep less. ADHD can also be developed

from sleep deprivation. Like anxiety disorders, ADHD will make it harder for a person to fall

asleep at night. Your body clock will be off and you will be waking up at random hours ready to

start your day. ADHD makes it harder for a person to fall asleep and stay asleep. ADHD is

something that many kids and teens struggle with. With not getting enough sleep every night and

having ADHD it can be hard to pay attention to daily activities. This can cause a decrease in a

person’s mental health. The person could be overwhelmed or even stressed out dealing with

these concerns.

The worst case scenario is for a teen to suffer from insomnia. Insomnia can be described

as trouble falling asleep, trouble staying asleep, trouble with feeling tired, tired throughout the

day, but wide awake before going to bed, and other similar traits. Their body essentially runs on

little to no energy and sleep due to insomnia. Insomnia is a hard situation to deal with as a

teenager. Since teens go to school and usually have busy schedules, not sleeping can really affect

their mental health. It's hard to get through a busy day on little to no sleep. Insomnia is a hard

disorder to heal from. This disorder can really impact your life. If you're a teenager and have

insomnia, it might affect you later in life. “According to estimates, insomnia is believed to affect

approximately 33% of the world's population” (Cherry paragraph 1). Insomnia can make your
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easy everyday tasks a little harder to do. Due to the lack of sleep a person is receiving from

insomnia, doing daily activities might take longer than usual. A person would be using more

energy that they don’t have to complete tasks throughout their day. Someone with insomnia has a

tendency to suffer from not being able to stay in a deep sleep for a long period of time, and

overall getting less sleep than the average person. The difficulty with this disorder is that these

people, who suffer from me, have to break their sleep cycle and force themselves to go to bed at

a normal time, but just can’t. It's like their bodies won’t allow them to get more than five hours

of sleep every night.

Mental health is a serious topic that needs to be a higher priority for most people. Some

people are scared to tell someone they are struggling, but it will benefit them if they speak out. In

today’s society, it is a “trend” to have anxiety or depression, even if you don’t have it. People do

it to make themselves feel more “normal.” The new “normal” is to have a mental disorder which

should not be the standards in today’s world. It shouldn’t be trendy to have a mental disorder that

so many people in the world are struggling with. Someone who has a mental disorder, like

depression, anxiety, etc. should reach out for help. Mental health is so important for one's future

and getting help will benefit them in more ways than they know. Getting help can even be

someone getting out of a habit that they need to break. Making progress can be seen in so many

different ways. Whether If it's getting up to do something productive or even going to bed early,

it is still a start to a new beginning. A great way to start the healing process is making lifestyle

changes. Changing up a daily routine can be a great way to cope with mental disorders. A change

in lifestyle can be more beneficial than one can believe. Getting a new hobby can help get

someone out of the slump they are stuck in. Reaching out to friends and family can also be a
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change and a switch up someone might need. Mental health is a serious part of everyone’s life,

and you as a person needs to keep up with it.

What can you do to improve your sleep schedule? This question is asked by many and

can be answered. Try to get back into a routine where you get the amount of sleep needed for

your body. Knowing someone’s sleep hygiene is a great indicator to improve their sleep

schedule. If a person is struggling with sleep deprivation there are multiple ways to get back to

their normal sleep schedule. A great way to get back on track is to have a set bedtime of when

you are going to go to sleep. If a person repeatedly goes to bed at a scheduled time, their body

will start sensing the pattern of when they fall asleep. This is a great way to get all of your hours

in. Another way to regulate your sleep schedule is to avoid caffeine at late hours of the night. Try

to avoid alcohol, coffee, tobacco, etc. during the night time, since these substances can keep

someone up at night. These substances can make falling asleep a lot harder than usual. These

substances also might make one sleep longer than normal, messing up one’s sleep schedule.

Drinking caffeine or eating a lot of sugar before bed will not help you fall asleep faster.

Another great way to fix one’s sleep schedule would be to not be on your phone before

you go to bed. I know it's a lot easier said than done, but your phone and the blue light it gives

off can make you stay up for longer hours. It's scientifically proven that people should put their

electronic devices one hour before they go to bed. This helps one to fall asleep. With the blue

light from one’s electronics can become addicting before bed. This can send a signal to one’s

brain keeping it active while one is trying to go to bed. During the one hour of no electronics,

one can read a book or find more relaxing activities to wind down with. Once a person gets into a

schedule routine before bed, it will automatically become a habit and scheduled routine. Another

great way to fix someone’s sleep deprivation is to take fewer naps. Don’t take naps throughout
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the day, since this will alter your routine at night. Taking a nap during the day, will keep one up

at night, messing up the full routine. If a person just fixed their sleep schedule, they definitely

don’t want to ruin the habits that have been created. It might be tempting to take a nap after a

long day, but instead of napping try to find something productive you could do. This would

guarantee that you would get more sleep in the end and have a more productive day.

On the other side of the argument, some will argue that there is no correlation between

getting enough sleep and mental health in teens. In the article it states, “These results indicate

that understanding relations between sleep and mental health in university students with

generally healthy sleep habits is important not only due to the large number of undergraduates

who experience sleep problems and mental health issues over time but also due to the potential to

intervene and improve mental health outcomes before they become clinically concerning”

(Lukowski paragraph 1). In this argument, a study was done at a university and the results were

more positive than negative. This supports the theory of sleep and mental health not being

connected.

To sum up everything that was said in this writing, sleep and mental health are very

connected. Lack of sleep can drain teen’s mental health without them even noticing. Sleep

deprivation can be the leading cause of mental illnesses in teens' health. It is important that you

take care of yourself and get the proper amount of sleep that your body needs. Lack of sleep can

cause many health related problems that can severely damage you as an individual. If someone

isn’t sleeping they are vulnerable mentally and physically as a person. It's vital that you take care

of your body and mind. Mental health is a very important topic that needs to be prioritized more.

There can be many conflicts that can arise if one does not take care of themselves and their

mental health. The healing process of your mental health takes time and patience. A person
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needs to be constantly working on it, to get it to stay with them. Working on your sleep schedule

and maintaining a routine can help wonders with one’s mental health, especially teens.

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