Olivia Klanderman

Sharyn Hunter

ENG II

March 19, 2021

Literature Review

Sleep and mental health are connected in many ways. Getting enough rest and making a

good routine for your sleep schedule can benefit you in many ways. Not getting enough sleep

can affect your mental health and your behavior in your everyday life. The question I will be

trying to answer today is how does sleep affect your mental health. If you have a poor sleep

schedule, how will your body and mind react to little to no sleep.

In an article it states, “According to estimates, it is believed to affect approximately 33%

of the world's population” (Cherry). 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 cause a number of health issues including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and

depression. Not sleeping can take a toll on your body that isn’t beneficial.

Not sleeping can lead to many mental health disorders like, depression, bipolar disorders,

anxiety disorders, and ADHD. Lack of sleep can be the cause of someone’s depression. Insomnia

and other sleep problems also increase the risk of developing depression. 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.

Anxiety disorders are also associated with sleep deprivation. According to an article,

“Sleep problems affect more than 50% of adult patients with generalized anxiety disorder, are

common in those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and may occur in panic disorder,
obsessive-compulsive disorder, and phobias” (Harvard). Lack of sleep can make your mental

plummet and your anxiety worse. If you develop an anxiety disorder from innsomnia, it will be

harder for you to go to sleep. Your brain will not shut down until your body cannot function

anymore.

Bipolar disorders and ADHD can also be connected with lack of sleep. In an article it

states, “Longitudinal studies suggest that insomnia and other sleep problems worsen before an

episode of mania or bipolar depression, and lack of sleep can trigger mania” (Harvard). Bipolar

disorders can worsen overtime with a poor sleep schedule. ADHD is also connected to 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.

Stress can also affect your sleep schedule. It 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. Lack

of sleep can make it much more difficult to cope with even relatively minor stress. Poor sleep

itself can even turn into a source of stress.

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. Don’t take naps throughout the day, since this will alter your routine at night.

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

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

connected. Lack of sleep can drain your mental health without you even noticing. It is important

that you take care of yourself and get the proper amount of sleep that your body needs. Sleep can
affect your body in many different ways, whether it's positive or negative. It's vital that you take

care of your body and mind.

Work Cited

Al-Khani, Abdullah Murhaf, et al. "A cross-sectional survey on sleep quality, mental health, and

academic performance among medical students in Saudi Arabia." BMC Research Notes, 2019,
p. NA. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/A604553206/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=67c89171. Accessed

7 Mar. 2021.

Cherry, Kendra. "How Does Sleep Affect Mental Health?" Edited by Amy Morin.

How Sleep Affects Mental Health, 24 Feb. 2020, www.verywellmind.com/

how-sleep-affects-mental-health-4783067. Accessed 7 Mar. 2021.

"Data from University of Zurich Provide New Insights into Anxiety Disorders (How stress affects

sleep and mental health: nocturnal heart rate increases during prolonged stress and

interacts with childhood trauma exposure to predict anxiety)." Mental Health Weekly

Digest, 29 June 2020, p. 154. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/A627911412/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=b5bb19b0.

Accessed 7 Mar. 2021.

"Sleep and Mental Health." Sleep and Mental Health- Harvard Health, Harvard

Medical School, 18 Mar. 2019, www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/

sleep-and-mental-health. Accessed 7 Mar. 2021.

Seow, Lee Seng Esmond, et al. "Independent and combined associations of sleep duration and

sleep quality with common physical and mental disorders: Results from a multi-ethnic

population-based study." PLoS ONE, vol. 15, no. 7, 2020, p. e0235816. Gale In Context:

Opposing Viewpoints,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/A629662195/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=4a871f67.

Accessed 7 Mar. 2021.