How Sleep Affects Your Mood, and What You Can Do To Improve It

Sleep is arguably the most important thing besides nutrients and hydration for maintaining your health. So unsurprisingly when a person’s sleep is disturbed their health and mood will be affected. The first thing you should think about is what you’re sleeping on, and certain mattresses are better than others. A Koala Mattress is a great option for a great night’s sleep. 

Lack of sleep can have many impacts, from just making you a little cranky, all the way to badly affecting your physical and mental health. Physically, ongoing sleep disturbance can slow down your metabolism, making you feel more tired and unmotivated, and can also cause weight gain or make it difficult to lose or maintain your weight. Your reactions will also be slowed and that includes your immune response. This makes it easier to become sick and causes illness to last longer or perhaps feel a little worse than it otherwise would. Exhaustion also causes headaches that can be quite severe and are difficult to treat. All of these things are going to negatively affect your mood, but there are things you can do! 

Make Your Sleeping Space Relaxing

Your bed and surrounding area needs to be a calming and non-stimulating space. Set the mood with calming colours and candles, maybe light some incense and try not to take your devices to bed. You need to think of your bed as a place that is only for sleeping, so try to do work at a desk and spend your screen time in a separate part of your house. Less visually stimulating activities like reading are more acceptable bedtime activities. Having a comfortable underlay and soft, clean sheets can also sometimes be the thing that makes the difference between a restful night or a poor one.    

 Establish a Routine

If the trouble you have with sleep is the process of actually getting to sleep, the best thing you can do is start to develop a regular nightly routine. Things to avoid in this routine include alcohol, caffeine and large amounts of sugar. Try to incorporate things that make you feel happy and calm, have some dessert and some milk, or bathe and rub yourself with a pleasant lotion. Watch a few episodes of something and then go to bed at around the same time on weekdays. This will help your brain get used to the idea of “now is the time to sleep,” and you will find that eventually it will be an automatic thing.

Don’t Nap!  

This is the hardest thing to implement when you are overtired and need to get things done, but if you consistently find yourself having difficulties sleeping at night, this might be something that could work for you. Try to stay awake during the daylight hours, and if you need to do some exercise to help tire yourself out, that can help as well. It’s about making good habits for yourself, so the more you can stick to these rules the better.

There’s an App for That!

Maybe you just need some background noise! Some people find it much easier to drift off when they are listening to something, be it a podcast or some music. If you prefer you can also download free apps that play white noise or other ambient sounds like fires, the ocean, rain, traffic etc. Meditating can also be an effective strategy of relaxing your body in preparation for sleep.  

Of course if after trying out a few different strategies, you are still struggling to get your sleep under control you should consider seeing your local GP and discussing some other strategies. If you feel like the sleeplessness is negatively affecting your life it might also have roots in stress, and you may benefit from talking to someone.  

Porcia Aue