Importance of sleep
Sleep is an essential part of an individual’s daily functioning, affecting one’s attention, cognition, memory, muscle repair, hormone rebalancing, stress and weight management.
Quality of sleep, therefore, plays an integral part in both physical and mental health, affecting different functions within the body.
Despite its importance, achieving high quality sleep may sometimes be challenging for some, due to multiple extraneous factors such as poor diet and life style choices, as well as other mental or physical health issues.
A study conducted by Khan and Al-Jahdali (2023) suggests that sleep deprivation may disrupt memory consolidation, making it harder for a sleep deprived individual to transfer memories into the long term memory storage and to remember information, possibly resulting in frustration the day after. Moreover, sleep deprivation negatively affects judgement and may increase the likelihood for human errors. In a nutshell, functions such as good judgement, reflexive thinking and heuristics may be inhibited when sleep is deprived, hence resulting in a lack of attention and concentration during the day.
Sleep deprivation not only negatively affects the brain in terms of memory and attention span, but it also highly impacts one’s mental health. In fact, people with insomnia are 10 to 17 times more likely than those without insomnia to experience clinically significant levels of depression and anxiety, respectively (Scott et al., 2021). In addition, poor sleep has also been associated with the development or worsening of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), eating disorders, night terrors and heightened stress.
Several studies have also shown that over 30% of adults suffer from imsomnia, placing it amongst one of the most common sleep related disorders (National Council on Ageing, 2024).
It is important to consult a doctor to discuss treatment options of how insomnia may be overcome, ultimately helping in achieving a better lifestyle and optimised health.
Treatment for insomnia usually starts from the implementation of simple lifestyle adjustments, that may ultimately help an insomniac, longer term. Moreover, treatment does not always have to include the use of short term-medication (better known as sleeping pills), considering one of the most common side effects of these is dependance.
Firstly, it is important to stick to a common daily bed time since this will aid the body into adopting a regular circadian rhythm. Going to sleep at the same time in a sleep friendly bedroom is fundamental to achieving a restful night.
Making your room sleep friendly means that electronic devices are switched off at least half-an-hour before bedtime and that the room temperature is comfortable. Decorating with neutral tones may also help one`s brain to relax and sleep easier.
Avoiding caffeinated beverages, alcohol and nicotine before bedtime may also increase the likelihood of achieving a good night`s sleep. Heavy late night snacks are also not encouraged since these may cause acid reflux which may also negatively impact sleep quality.
Last but not least, the ultimate tactic to get a good night`s rest is the proper management of any physical conditions, mental health issues as well as acute stress that may be drastically decreasing the comfort level of a person at night, by considering psychotherapy and taking any prescribed medications that improve a condition`s trajectory, ultimately creating a mind-set that allows the person to relax and sleep comfortably.
Above article provided by the collaboration of Dame (Dr.) Georgiana Farrugia Bonnici – MD, MSc Family Medicine, BSc (Hons). Radiography and also Mr. Gabriel Falzon, B.A. (Melit), (Nursing Student)
Diplomas in Mindful Mental Health, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Nutrition & Dietetics, Homeopathy & Reflexology, Creative Writing & Interior Design
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