SLEEP + PSYCHOLOGY: HOW SLEEP AFFECTS THE MIND + HOW THE MIND AFFECTS SLEEP
Sleep affects the mind, and in turn the mind affects sleep. So how can you get a better night of sleep?
SLEEP + PSYCHOLOGY: HOW SLEEP AFFECTS THE MIND + HOW THE MIND AFFECTS SLEEP
by Joyce Chong
WHY IS SLEEP IMPORTANT?
We all know that getting a good night of sleep is important for our health, but when it comes time to go to bed it can be tempting to stay up to send just one more email, finish off that movie, or cross one more thing off the to do list. The thing is, sleep is critically important for our health and overall wellbeing. Studies have shown significant health risks linked to insufficient sleep. These include a greater risk of coronary heart disease[1], Type 2 Diabetes[2], and even a shorter lifespan[3].
Sleep deprivation has also been linked to weight gain, through various pathways including increased hunger, increased opportunities for eating (through being awake for longer), as well as increased fatigue resulting in less exercise[4].
It may be less obvious, but sleep also has an impact on the mind, and in turn, the mind has a powerful impact on sleep. Read on to find out more about how they influence each other.
HOW SLEEP AFFECTS THE MIND
Sleep is also important for our mind, particularly when we consider our cognitive performance and our mood.
In our busy schedules we may stay up just that bit later so that we can work, study, or play hard, however even short term sleep deprivation can result in reduced concentration, memory and performance[5]. Reduced concentration and performance might not seem like such big deal if you’re dozing in front of a movie, but studies have shown that sleep deprivation can lead to the same decrease in performance as would be seen if one was under the influence of alcohol.
One study compared the performance of certain tasks by participants when they had drunk alcohol, and then again when they were deprived of sleep. Results showed that after 17 to 19 hours without sleep, performance was equivalent to when participants had a BAC of 0.05%. Accuracy and speed on both cognitive and motor tasks was impaired. After even more sleep deprivation, performance worsened to the equivalent of a BAC of 0.1% - the maximum administered in the study[6].
Sure, that’s a study in a lab, but what are the real-world implications? Let’s think about sleep deprivation in each of these situations below:
The student who pulls an all-nighter in order to cram for an exam;
The consultant who has to ‘think on her feet’ during a budget presentation she is giving;
The person who operates heavy machinery for work; or even
The everyday worker who wakes up at 6am to gets into work for an 8-hour day and follows this up with a Friday night partying session, and then gets behind the wheel to get home.
What happens to each of these individuals when concentration and memory suffers? What are the real risks when you consider these very individuals performing these tasks where their performance is equivalent to that of someone with a BAC of .05%?
How sleep affects MOOD
Sleep deprivation can also have a real impact on mood. Consider the potential for things to spiral upwards or downwards as the day progresses for you. Let’s look at the example of Paige:
When Paige doesn’t get enough sleep she:
Wakes up feeling tired.
Is prone to making simple mistakes when getting ready for work because her concentration and memory aren’t in tip top shape. This can lead to ‘lost time’ as she has to question herself or even backtrack (e.g. “Did I turn the iron off? I should probably go back and check just in case.”).
Drives to work in peak hour traffic but because she is already stressed from the morning rush, she is quick to react if she is cut off by another car, less tolerant of any obstacles, and feels more irritated.
Is frazzled and very frustrated by the time she enters the office, and work (and its associated stressors, including colleagues) hasn’t even begun.
Makes poor food choices during the day because she thinks she ‘deserves it’ due to the bad day she’s having, and may even choose to have a glass or two of alcohol at night to help her unwind from the stressful day that she has had.
When Paige gets enough sleep she:
Wakes up feeling rested and in a neutral or even positive mood.
Is able to concentrate on what she is doing when getting ready for work.
Is less reactive in peak hour traffic because she isn’t already feeling stressed from her morning
Is more balanced in her mood by the time she enters the office, is more likely to have positive interactions with colleagues, and feels better able to handle stressful events that day.
Is more likely to stick to a healthy diet and make good food choices because her day hasn’t been overly stressful.
So you can see that our sleep really has the potential to set us up for a good day where we can remain relatively calm, or set us up for a bad day when we are more reactive.
HOW THE MIND AFFECTS SLEEP
So yes, sleep can definitely affect our mind, but how does our mind, in turn, affect our sleep in turn?
The choices you make in relation to sleep
The mind is a powerful thing when it comes to sleep. It determines when you set your bedtime (“Just one more episode of Game of Thrones and then I’ll go to bed!” vs. “I know that I need 9 hours of sleep to function properly so that means I’ll go to bed at 10pm”). The mind also affects your choice of behaviours that either promote sleep or hinder sleep (“I really need this 3pm coffee…I may pay for it tonight, but right now I just need to get through the next three hours at work.”).
The thoughts you have when attempting to sleep
Sometimes the mind can start to work overtime when you’re about to hit your bed. This can include worrying about your To Do list for the next day, or worrying about a loved one, or even about the things that have happened to you during the day.
There is another special category of thoughts that we don’t often think about – we call them our Sleep Cognitions – it’s just a fancy description for thoughts we have about how much sleep we need, our beliefs about the negative consequences if we don’t get the sleep we need, our beliefs about how we’ll feel or how productive we will be if we don’t get enough sleep.
As you can see, these unhelpful sleep cognitions have the potential to put us in a stressed state – which is quite the opposite to what we need (to feel relaxed) in order to fall asleep.
HOW TO SLEEP BETTER – 6 SIMPLE TIPS
So how can we look after our health and prioritise sleep? The first step is to make sensible choices with our time. See sleep as a necessity, not a luxury. Set a regular bed time and stick to it. On average, most adults will need between 7 and 9 hours a night to function at their best, so factor this in to your regular schedule.
Once you’ve done that, follow these simple tips below, to ensure that you’re setting yourself up for a refreshing night of sleep:
1. Allow enough time before hand to wind down before trying to sleep.
2. Put away illuminated screens such as phones and alarm clocks.
3. Ensure the bedroom is dark, quiet and cool.
4. Sleep on a supportive mattress and pillow.
5. Exercise during the day, but not just before sleep.
6. Avoid stimulants such as caffeine, cigarettes and spicy food late in the day.
If you’re after more sleep (or more of the science behind why sleep is important), be sure to grab our tip sheet below. You’ll also gain access to our Resource Library full of tip sheets on Wellbeing, Mental Health, and Performance.
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REFERENCES
[1]Ayas N, White D, Manson J, Stampfer MJ, Speizer FE, Malhotra A et al. (2003). A prospective study of sleep duration and coronary heart disease in women. Archives of Internal Medicine, 163, 205–9.
[2] Yaggi HK, Araujo AB, McKinlay JB. (2006). Sleep duration as a risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care, 29, 657–61.
[3] Kripke D, Garfinkel L, Wingard D, Klauber MR, Marler MR. (2002). Mortality associated with sleep duration and insomnia. Archives of General Psychiatry, 59, 131–6.
[4] Patel, S.R., & Hu, F.B. (2008). Short sleep duration and weight gain: A systematic review. Obesity, 16, 643-653.
[5] Belenky G, Wesensten N, Thorne D, Thomas ML, Sing HC, Redmond DP et al. (2003). Patterns of performance degradation and restoration during sleep restriction and subsequent recovery: a sleep dose-response study. Journal of Sleep Research, 12: 1–12.
[6] Williamson, A. M, Fayer, A. (2000). Moderate sleep deprivation produces impairments in cognitive and motor performance equivalent to legally prescribed levels of alcohol intoxication. Occupational Environmental Medicine, 57, 649 – 655.
Confessions of a mindfulness sceptic...
Mindfulness...it's everywhere we look, and it permeates every aspect of our lives. But is mindfulness the miracle cure it's touted to be?
confessions of a mindfulness sceptic
Mindfulness. Previously reserved solely for eastern philosophy and hardcore yoga addicts, in 2016 mindfulness has well and truly entered the mainstream.
Walk past a self-help section at a bookstore, browse a blog on wellness and healthy living, chat with the mums at the playground and no doubt before long you will find yourself confronted with someone extolling the virtues of mindfulness.
Mindfulness is taught at our schools and workplaces, it’s encouraged as a way to de-stress, get sleep, reduce anxiety and probably lose 5kg in the process. A modern panacea for pretty much anything that ails you. But is mindfulness a miracle cure or snake oil?
THE CASE FOR SCEPTICISM WHEN IT COMES TO MINDFULNESS
Now as a psychologist, this writer should be all about mindfulness. This is a golden age for mindfulness, a win for mental health! Shouldn’t I be itching to settle in to twice daily, hour-long mindfulness meditation sessions?
Maybe I should. But I’m not. Confession time – I’m just not a fan. So let me lay it all out on the table. Here are the reasons why I’m a mindfulness sceptic.
1. MINDFULNESS IS boring.
Come on, be honest now. It’s sitting there doing nothing. Deliberately doing nothing. Sure, you’re being mindful of everything that’s happening in the moment, but if you’re just sitting there, that adds up to not much. Even trying a 20 minute guided mindfulness exercise, I have to admit to boredom creeping in.
2. MINDFULNESS HAS NO CLEAR RESULT.
This is especially hard for those of us who are just a tiny bit perfectionistic and results-oriented. What if I were doing it to train my thoughts to never be negative? Well, that would be a result; that would be something worth putting in the hard yards for.
But one of the key elements of mindfulness is that you are not trying to change anything, but simply to observe. Practising true acceptance of everything you notice in the moment means that if you’re looking for a nice measurable change as a result, you’re not doing it for the right reasons.
3. MY THOUGHTS DON’T TURN OFF DURING MINDFULNESS.
Some people have the misconception that mindfulness is about learning how not to think. And it’s true, people who practice mindfulness meditations regularly do report a slowing of the mind, or a reduction in the running-like-a-freight-train type thoughts. But there’s no turning your thoughts off completely.
Trying to clear an unclearable mind? Now that sounds like a recipe for frustration.
4. I FEEL AWFUL AND IN PAIN A LOT OF THE TIME. WHY WOULD I DRAW ATTENTION TO IT WITH MINDFULNESS?
Here’s another tricky one. Mindfulness calls on you to “tune into” or be mindful of every part of your experience. Pay attention to your emotions, whether they are happiness, sadness or panic. Be present with your thoughts, whether they are saying “I am content in all situations” or “I am a worthless human being”. Bringing you closer to your experience in the moment can bring you back in touch with yourself. But it can also bring you closer to your pain.
5. I’m too lazy to be consistent ENOUGH WITH MINDFULNESS to see the benefits
Most proponents of mindfulness meditation advocate that you need to start at around two sessions a day, for 20 minutes each. And you must stick with this for around 3 months to see the benefits.
Now, is 20 minutes really all that much time? No, I guess not, but every day? For weeks on end? While I’m thinking of all the more productive things I could be doing? I’m afraid I just don’t have the staying power.
I’d say I have a pretty strong case for throwing the towel in. But in an effort to give mindfulness just one more chance, I thought I should look into the research to see just what it is about mindfulness that works. Here’s what I found:
THE BENEFITS OF MINDFULNESS: WHAT RESEARCH TELLS US
Mindfulness has been found to:
Improve concentration and mental clarity
Increase self control
Improve working memory
Increase tolerance to painful emotions
Increase kindness, acceptance and compassion towards others and self [1]
They all sound like good things, but how can we be sure it was actually practicing mindfulness that led to these changes?
Well, several studies have been conducted on people who are new to mindfulness. In these studies individuals identified what they would like to work on, such as symptoms of distress, depression or concentration. Then they are divided into two groups, with one group given mindfulness training while the other group isn’t, to test the impact that mindfulness had on the areas they would like to work on.
One such study found that mindfulness training led to fewer negative emotions, fewer depressive symptoms and less stewing over unhelpful thoughts. Those who received mindfulness training also demonstrated longer concentration span, and significantly better memory capacity.[2]
But just one study doesn’t prove much right? Well, maybe not but there have been plenty more. A recent meta-analysis (which means a study of lots of different studies) gathered together evidence from 39 different studies all testing the benefits of mindfulness that all found support for mindfulness as a way to reduce anxiety and depression. [3]
So that does sound kind of great and things seem to be swinging in favour of mindfulness. But what about all the work it takes to do mindfulness? Who has the time and dedication for that? Well, maybe it doesn’t have to be as much work as it seems. Remember the first study I told you about? Those participants only practiced mindfulness for 10 days to get those benefits.
And here’s something even more encouraging. In another study – where half of the participants received mindfulness training and the other half didn’t – all participants then watched three movie clips. One clip was a happy one, one was a distressing one, and one was a mix of both. Those who underwent mindfulness training showed more positive emotions after watching the happy clip, and fewer negative emotions after watching the mixed clip. [4]
So maybe there is some truth in mindfulness bringing your attention to your pain when you are feeling bad. But if it also means that you can feel happier during the happy times, and less sad during the sad, then maybe it’s worth it. And the best bit is yet to come. The “mindfulness training” that the people in this study did? Just one session lasting 10 minutes.
Now that’s something even a mindfulness sceptic can achieve! And that’s the thing about mindfulness. Different people have packaged it up in different ways. A lot of people who have jumped on the mindfulness bandwagon have embraced the “twice a day for at least 20 minutes” kind of regime. And if they can stick to that, that’s great.
But mindfulness isn’t just for those dedicated few. At its core, mindfulness is about paying attention. Being completely in the present as each moment unfolds, rather than having your head stuck in the past or worrying about the future. And you could do that for 30 minutes or for just 30 seconds. You could do it in a tranquil rainforest, at a party, in traffic or when surrounded by screaming toddlers. Just because your life is busy and hectic, doesn’t mean mindfulness isn’t an option for you. And as the studies have shown, maybe even a little bit of mindfulness can still be a good thing.
So now that the results are in, am I going to turn into a mindfulness fanatic, who can’t get my without my hour long meditation? Probably not. But taking time to non-judgementally tune into my thoughts, feeling and physical sensations as a quick touchstone during the day? Remembering that it’s only the present moment you have to live in, and that each moment will pass? Even a sceptic can achieve that. Now that’s something to be mindful of.
Annie
REFERENCES
[1] Davis, D.M., & Hayes, J.A. (2011). What are the benefits of mindfulness? A practice review of psychotherapy related research. Psychotherapy, 48, 198-208.
[2] Chambers, R., & Allen, N.B. (2008). The impact of intensive mindfulness training on attentional control, cognitive style and affect. Cognitive Therapy and Research 32, 303-322
[3] Hoffman, S.G., Sawyer A.T., & Oh, D. (2010). The effect of mindfulness based therapy on anxiety and depression: A metaanalytic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 78, 169 – 183.
[4] Erisman, S.M., & Roemer L. (2010). A preliminary investigation of the effects of experimentally induced mindfulness on emotional responding to film clips. Emotion 10, 72–82.
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