Sleep is important for your mental health, often much more important than people realize. Sleep is directly related to anxiety and stress coping. It affects focus, concentration, and memory. Poor sleep can contribute to, and even cause, diagnosable mental health disorders.
Sleep is also much harder to get when you are a parent. Some parents are amazing at going to bed at a reasonable time, choosing to fall asleep as soon as their children lay down for the night. But others struggle. They have a desire to “reclaim their time,” staying awake because most of their day was spent taking care of the kids and working.
It’s a challenge, and a balance. You DO need time for yourself, but you also need to make sure that you’re getting rest. Without adequate sleep, you’re going to be far more prone to:
- Anxiety
- Stress
- Stomach Issues
- Frustration
It’s going to affect you as a parent, and it’s going to make you more likely to struggle with anxiety and stress related disorders in the future. Sleep is too important to skip.
Strategies to Get to Bed to Reduce Anxiety
The primary key to making sure that you’re getting adequate sleep while still giving yourself some much needed “me” time is to be intentional. More than anything else, having a plan for how you’re going to spend your time rather than, for example, browsing your phone for 3 hours is going to be critically important.
“Doing things” is what will make your time fulfilling and make you feel like you did have that opportunity for yourself. If your children go to bed at 8, and you go to bed at 10:30, and between 8 and 10:30 you are actively engaging in hobbies, conversations, goals, etc., you are going to feel much better about going to bed at 10:30. But if that time is wasted, then you’re more likely to feel like you need to stay up those extra hours.
In addition, it will be important to:
- Minimize technology. Screen time wakes up the brain, leading to reduced tiredness.
- Create a goal list. To feel like you accomplished things, create SMART goals.
- Try sleep hygiene. Have a routine that you do over and over so it helps you get tired.
- Turn your bed into a bed. When you are on the phone or do other things in bed other than sleep and romance, it creates anxiety in your bed and room, leading to poor sleep.
Lastly, consider seeing a therapist that specializes in anxiety. Your therapists can help you determine what’s stopping you from going to sleep, help you learn habits to sleep more comfortably, reduce your anxiety about your day, and even help you with goal setting and taking care of your mental health.
When we’re unable to get ourselves to go to bed, it often means something else is happening in our lives that would benefit from professional help. Get the support you need today with Long Island Psychology.
