Is a Good Night’s Sleep the key to Sustained Happiness?

What is the link between your mental health and sleep?

Is there a link between poor mental health and sleep? Could getting a bad night’s sleep really be as bad as smoking? Does driving tired really put you in as much danger as driving drunk? According to the latest science, yes!

Not only that, but not getting a good night’s sleep can significantly impact your happiness levels and your ability to cope with anything life throws at you – which let’s face it, has been a lot in 2020.

For a number of years now, scientists have been arguing that sleep should be considered a major public health concern. We now know that not getting enough sleep or good enough quality of sleep can have significant impacts on our lives and our enjoyment of our lives.

In this article, we explore the link between your mental health and sleep, and how we can use this info to achieve a happier, healthier life. Read on!

Mental health and sleep

Sleep is a basic human need, like air and water. But in a world where it seems like there are never enough hours in the day, it can feel like cutting an hour or two out of our sleep routines is the only, or easiest, option.

Yet many of us are regularly shortchanging ourselves when it comes to sleep – shaving off a few hours here and there and carrying around an unhealthy amount of sleep debt each week. The problem is that it adds up to some pretty nasty side effects. Not getting enough sleep has been linked to many poor mental health outcomes, such as depression and anxiety.

A recent study looked at how many hours a person slept and how well they dealt with negative events the next day. We’ve all been cranky after a bad night’s sleep, so you’d expect that participants would respond poorly to bad things the next day. But researchers discovered that participants also didn’t enjoy good events as much either.

Sleep loss impacted their ability to be happy or feel joy when things went well, so they felt less happy even when good things happened during the day. People reacted better to both positive and negative events on a good night’s sleep.

“When people experience something positive, such as getting a hug or spending time in nature, they typically feel happier that day,” says Nancy Sin, assistant professor in UBC’s department of psychology. “But we found that when a person sleeps less than their usual amount, they don’t have as much of a boost in positive emotions from their positive events.”

In another study, researchers studied participants for four years and found that getting better sleep had the equivalent boost in happiness levels as 8 weeks of mindful cognitive therapy or winning the lottery!

Sleep and immune system

It’s clear that sleep and mental health are tightly linked, but did you know the links between sleep and your immune system and physical health are just as strong?

Poor sleep impacts your immune system, resulting in a decrease in cytokines and antibodies, which are needed when you’re fighting infections or inflammation. Not getting enough sleep has been linked to many chronic health problems, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, obesity and heart and kidney disease. It also impacts your chances of getting sick after being exposed to a virus and it also affects how quickly you recover from illness.

It’s also linked to an increased risk of injury and accidents. In America, the National Institute of Health even reports that there are many instances where poor sleep has played a role in tragic accidents, including nuclear reactor meltdowns, grounding of large ships, and aviation accidents.

“A common myth is that people can learn to get by on little sleep with no negative effects. However, research shows that getting enough quality sleep at the right times is vital for mental health, physical health, quality of life, and safety,” according to the NIH.

How to sleep well

There are 3 keys to good sleep: Getting enough sleep. Getting consistent sleep. Getting good quality sleep.

1. Enough sleep: If you struggle to get enough sleep, try writing down your daily activities for a couple of weeks to see where you are spending your time. Each night before bed, jot down on paper the broad activities you did that day and how many hours you spent on each, such as 6hrs sleep, 3 hrs commute, 9hrs work, 1.5hrs cooking/eating, 2hrs relaxing/TV. At the end of the week, look at the activities you’re doing and see whether there are any opportunities to gain back 30 minutes (or more!) to add to your sleep. That might mean veg time in front of the TV!

• Consistent sleep: The research shows that it is not just about getting enough sleep but also about getting consistent sleep. Our bodies work on rhythms – the main one is the circadian rhythm which is our 24hr body clock. Disrupting this rhythm with inconsistent sleep not only plays havoc with our emotions, but it also messes up our bodies. This means it’s important to wind down around the same time every day and go to bed and get up at the same time every day – yes this means even on weekends!

• Good quality sleep: The researchers who found that better sleep was as important to our happiness levels as winning the lottery also found that sleep quality had the largest positive impact on our mental health. This suggests that getting good quality sleep is the most important factor of all. So, next time you are asked what you want for your birthday or you’re thinking about spoiling yourself, have a look at your bedroom and sleeping environment. What can you do to make it as dark, quiet and temperature appropriate (slightly cool) as possible? You could invest in black-out curtains or a face mask to block out unwanted light. Double-glaze your windows or wear ear plugs to block out noise. Buy a heater or air conditioner unit if needed, or lighter or heavier blankets, depending on the season.

It’s worth pointing out that many people have sleep issues that will not be solved by simply making the above changes.

For a number of years, I slept poorly and woke up regularly during the night. I would never have guessed that my intolerance to dairy was the cause. Since removing dairy from my diet, I now sleep through the night again and am much happier and more emotionally resilient. Whether you struggle to fall asleep, stay asleep or just always wake up tired, there are a myriad of reasons why you may have trouble sleeping. See your doctor if you’re experiencing issues with your sleep that are out of the ordinary or can’t be addressed by the above changes.

Want to learn more about the science of happiness? Make sure to subscribe to my podcast Happiness for Cynics and my email newsletter for regular updates & resilience resources!