Sleep is important for good mental health. Hormones that help our bodies repair, build and rebuild our immune systems, are released at night, when there is no natural light. Stress often makes sleep difficult. We get up and turn on the lights. We've been told that when we can't sleep we should get up and do something else until we are able to get to sleep, yet when we turn on the lights we deprive our bodies of the repair and healing that needs to happen for us to maintain long-term health.

When we go for long periods of time without an adequate amount of sleep, fatigue, clumsiness and changes in our weight may occur. The things that occur when we don't get enough sleep add even more stress. When we are clumsy, tired and more apt to make mistakes our days become stress-filled.

Ten years ago there was a study at the Chicago Medical Institute that suggested a link to heart disease and mental illnesses, especially psychosis. Through sleep studies it was shown that when exposed to a continued lack of sleep the brain can't properly process what is happening and becomes unable to respond normally. Abnormal thought processes then occur. 

Light sleep is not enough. The body needs non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep to make the body repairs needed. When non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM) occurs the body is able to shut down the neurotransmissions that occur in the daytime. NREM sleep is dreamless sleep.

This was proven in a University of Chicago study in 1982. This University of Chicago study is the same study that found that depression may be reduced with rapid eye movement (REM) sleep because when REM sleep happens selective serotonin re-uptake inhibition (SSRIs) also occurs.

There are studies that state that when deep sleep (REM) doesn't happen that bodies become unable to repair as they need to (1999 California State University).

To learn more about the sleep cycle the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, which is part of the National Institute of Health (NIH), has a page that explains more.

So what can we do? Many people who have a serious mental illness/psychiatric diagnosis struggle with getting to sleep, a lack of rest, staying asleep, and insomnia

Here are some small things we can do to start.

• When you can't sleep, consider listening to music in the dark so that your cells have a better chance to regenerate and heal.
• Use a sleep mask to keep out any light that might be triggering body cells.
• Make any needed lifestyle changes that might be affecting your sleep. Things like sitting under florescent lights or LED's late at night might be affecting the brain making it difficult for you to sleep.
• Try not to stress eat. Eating certain foods can stimulate our bodies and make it harder to sleep. Eating food late at night may cause us to be more restless than usual or cause other physical issues like acid reflux.
• Do what you can to make the place where you sleep conducive to sleep. Having an exercise area in your bedroom may make you think about exercise instead of sleep.

Sleep is very important to people with a mental illness/psychiatric diagnosis to help avoid relapse, to feel well, and more in control. But worrying about sleep has not been found to be helpful. Try to get adequate sleep, but don’t waste a lot of energy worrying about the amount of sleep you get. When you can't sleep, remember to try to spend some time in a dark room so that your cells can regenerate.