Photo by Kinga Cichewicz
(by contributing writer Cheryl Conklin of Wellness Central
If you’re one of 47.6 million U.S. adults who suffers from a mental health condition, you may struggle to fall asleep at bedtime, sleep soundly throughout the night, and wake up feeling refreshed in the morning. When you’re deprived of sleep, your mental disorder may also begin to worsen—and when your psychological condition flares up, your sleep quality may suffer even more.
While some psychological disorders can cause sleep issues—and others occur as a result of the sleep disorder itself—PsychCentral says that treating one problem usually alleviates the severity of the other issue as well. As such, improving your sleep quality is key to boosting your mental health and reducing the severity of your depression, anxiety, or other psychiatric condition.
If you’re looking to improve your nightly habits, but don’t have a whole lot of money to invest in costly sleep gadgets or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), there are many affordable, natural remedies you can try. Read on to learn more!
Practice Daily Stress Reduction
Stress affects many parts of our lives, including our ability to fall asleep at bedtime and sleep soundly until morning. In fact, the American Institute of Stress (AIS) says that high stress levels keep approximately 40 percent of Americans up at night—and things like work, money, and political-related stressors may be partly to blame. In addition to impairing our sleep quality, however, chronic stress may lower our mood and worsen the symptoms of an existing mental health condition.
If you’re dealing with chronic stress and find that your mental health and sleep quality are suffering because of it, it’s important to take a few minutes out of each day to focus on stress management. Several affordable strategies for managing the stress in your life may include journaling, listening to music, meditating, exercising at home or at the gym, dancing to your favorite songs, and laughing along to your favorite videos on the internet. Smartphone apps like Happify, The Mindfulness App, and Pocket Yoga can also help to alleviate feelings of stress.
Improve Your Sleep Habits Naturally
Now that you’re familiar with the connection between mental health, chronic stress, and sleep quality, it’s time to improve your bedtime habits. Good sleep hygiene sets us up for a better night’s rest, while poor bedtime habits keep us awake in the evening, impair our sleep quality, and leave us feeling groggy in the morning.
While bedtime habits are important, you don’t need to spend a lot of money on improving your sleep hygiene. Since the secret to a great night’s sleep revolves around sound, temperature, and light, you can create a better sleep environment by:
Turning your phones on silent, purchasing a white noise machine for drowning out noise, or wearing ear plugs to bed.
Avoiding your television and phone screens prior to bedtime, purchasing blackout curtains for the bedroom, and dimming all bedroom lights about an hour before it’s time for bed.
Lowering your thermostats, soaking in a hot bath shortly before bedtime, and purchasing breathable sheets that keep you cool as you sleep.
In addition to making these adjustments, other strategies like diffusing essential oils as you sleep, sipping on a hot cup of tea before bedtime, and consuming magnesium-rich snacks in the evening (like almonds and cashews) can help you to fall asleep more easily. Some of the best essential oils for good quality sleep include lavender, clary sage, and valerian oil—while several sleep-inducing teas include chamomile, valerian, peppermint, and lemon balm. Sleepytime tea blends are also available from budget-friendly brands such as Yogi, Celestial Seasonings, and Allegro.
If you don’t have any of these suggested sleep tools, most (if not all) of them can be bought for cheap at stores like Kohl’s. To save even more on the items you need, scour deal websites for Kohls coupon codes and other money-saving offers.
As you can see, there are plenty of affordable ways to improve your sleep habits without spending a whole lot of money. By managing your stress levels, changing up your bedroom and sleep habits, and sticking to your budget when buying natural sleep aids at your favorite stores, you’ll be on the right track to getting good sleep regularly and improving your mental health.
Thank you!
Cheryl Conklin
Wellness Central
www.wellnesscentral.info
cherylc@wellnesscentral.info