Americans live life in the fast lane -working long hours, feasting on bad food, anddealing with a lot of stress on little sleep. At night we find ourselves lying in bed worrying about the economy, our families, and all the rest of the woes of the world. This significantly decreases the amount of sleep we get,and even when we do sleep, and we don’t get restfuldeep sleep.
Without the right sleep, we find ourselves dragging through the day, close to collapsing from exhaustion. This catches up with ussoon enough, leaving us with physical andmental health issues. A lot of this is avoidable if we get enough restful sleep.
How do you know when you need more sleep?
There are several telltale signs that indicate you need to get more sleep. Understanding more about these signs will help you to recognize them in your life.
You have little to no sex drive.
When you find yourself feeling exhausted, the idea of having sex can be overwhelming.For men, this can manifest as erectile dysfunction,while women sufferin different ways. However, regardless of your gender, the bottom line is that your hormones are being affected by the lack of sleep. It’sironic to note thatsex can help both your mind and spirit relax so that you sleep better.
When you’re not up and moving, you’ll crash.
When you sit down and suddenly feel as though you can’t hold your head up any longer, it’s probably a good sign thatyou really need to get some sleep. This is something you want to take care of before you find yourself nodding off behind the wheel. You may even find yourself making it through the door at night but not having time for your family because you’ve collapsed on the couch.
Regardless of which of these experiences you’re having, it’s because you aren’t getting proper sleep. If you find that there’s something specific that your mind won’t let go of at night, then you may need to talk to a therapist about it.
You find yourself craving salt and sugar.
When you don’t get enough sleep, you’ll also start to crave foods that aren’t good for you – the biggest one being sugar. This is it because your body hasn’t had time to create Leptin. Additionally, a lack of Leptinwill leave younot knowing if you’re full. Therefore, you constantly feel hungry when you don’t get enough sleep. Unfortunately, it isn’t usually celery and carrotsthat you’ll turn to when this hunger strikes. Instead, you’ll want to eat things like greasy fast food, chocolate, and other sugary foods. This results in an endless cycle of poor sleep, poor eating, low energy, andmental health problems.
The next time you find yourself awake in the middle of the night eating one of these foods, you may want to seek some help for your sleep issues. Left untreated, they can result in weight gain, which will lead to more anxiety about your health.
Your mental health is affected by anxiety.
Nobody knows for sure while there are anxiety or sleep issues come first. Many experts have debated for yearswhether their patients are anxious because they haven’t been getting restful sleep or they’re sleepless because they’re anxious. Unfortunately, there are many people who suffer from mental health issues today, which lead to sleeplessness.
Check out the infographic below for tips to stop the stress build up and stop it from affecting your sleep!
Infographic provided by Scottsdale Mental Health and Wellness, an Arizona substance abuse treatment center
What do you do if you can’t get more sleep?
When you feel like you’re struggling with your mental health, not getting enough sleep, or simply passing out from exhaustion, it’s time to seek help from a therapist at the Advantage Mental Health Center in Clearwater, FL. To set up an appointment and get the help that you need, reach out to us today.
