Sleep

Many people with a mental health problem experience poor sleep, or may find that they are unable to sleep for as long as they use to.

This may be as a result of symptoms like excessive energy or rumination of thoughts causing you anxiousness. But it may also be due to surrounding factors such as if some recreational drugs have been taken, or as a side effect of the prescribed medication for the mental illness.

For others, extreme tiredness and an increase in number of hours of sleep is the problem. During depressive type episodes, many people will find that they are sleeping more, and are experiencing more tiredness symptoms during the day.

There are also a number of prescribed medications used for treating mental health problems that have a sedating effect. Try to make yourself aware of whether your medication is affecting you in this way, and also try to avoid alcohol when on these drugs as this will make the sedation effect even stronger.

If you are experiencing disturbances to your sleep this is something that you could raise with your doctor to see whether options are available for helping with this.

• avoid caffeine based drinks in the evening, and remember a number of soft drinks contain caffeine
• ignore the clock - don’t go to bed until you feel sleepy as lying awake if you are not tired is only likely to make you feel anxious or stressed
• avoid any day time naps
• set your alarm and get up at the same time every day - doing this helps you body re-establish its internal clock