Your Sleep & Your Mental Health
Sleep and mental health are closely connected. Disturbed sleep patterns or deprivation can lead to psychological problems. Also, people with mental health illnesses such as depression, anxiety, OCD, etc are more likely to suffer from insomnia or have sleep-related issues.
Generally, practitioners view insomnia and sleep issues as a symptom of the patients’ primary psychiatric conditions. However, sleep problems may raise the risk for, and may even directly contribute to insomnia and other sleep problems.
The brain is very complex and the relationship between mental health and sleep is not yet fully understood. Nonetheless, neuroimaging studies have shown that poor sleep can lead to negative thinking and emotional imbalance.
How sleep aids mental health?
- Reduces stress
- Lowers high levels of stress hormones
- Increases alertness and engaged
- Balanced sleep improves memory and cognitive abilities
- Reduces inflammation
A good night’s sleep can reduce the risk of mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety. Also, sleep helps the body and brain to repair themselves.
When we are sleeping our body creates more proteins and these proteins are needed so that our body can look after itself and maintain good health.
There are cases where individuals who have contracted Covid (Coronavirus) have their sleep impacted. Some even have suffered from severe insomnia.
How Can TMS Improve Your Sleep
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) treatment works by stimulating or inhibiting specific parts of the brain depending on the disorder it is treating.
For example in depression, TMS treatment improves mood, positive emotions, cognitive and executive abilities as well as reducing feelings of anxiety. Thus, once these symptoms are lowered the brain is in a more relaxed state. Therefore, allowing the falling of sleep to occur smoothly and to be able to gain REM sleep, leading to both emotional and mental stability.
