How Your Mood Affects Your Sleep and Vice Versa

It’s common knowledge that a stressful situation can keep you awake at night. That is true whether you just had a bad day at work or you are facing on ongoing ordeal. But did you know that the sleep-emotion relationship is a two-way street? Let’s talk about this complex relationship and then discuss how sleep apnea treatment may be able to improve the quality of your shuteye and boost your emotional health.

How Mood Affects Sleep

No matter how exhausted you are, a poor mood can rob you of rest. Anger, depression, and anxiety can all make it impossible for you to get enough sleep. Three signs that your emotions are depriving you of sleep include:

• You are always switched “on.” You find it difficult or impossible to clear your head at night, and negative thoughts keep you awake.
• You suffer from daytime fatigue. Negative emotions that lead to insomnia or fragmented sleep can make you drag during the day. It may be difficult to concentrate on basic tasks at work or to remain alert when you are driving.
• You have nightmares. Nightmares that result from negative feelings can wake you up and make it difficult for you to get back to sleep.

How Sleep Affects Mood

Negative emotions can initiate a vicious cycle. You are suffering from emotional distress, so you do not sleep well. You do not sleep well, so you suffer from increased anger, anxiety, and depression. In fact, according to the National Sleep Foundation, individuals with insomnia are 10 times as likely to have clinical depression than those who sleep normally, and they are 17 times as likely to have clinical anxiety.

Break Free of the Cycle

If you are caught in a spiral of negative emotions and poor quality sleep, a visit to your general physician may start you on the path to wellness. They might refer you to a mental health professional or prescribe medications or lifestyle changes. They might also suggest that you undergo a sleep study, which will determine if you have a sleep disorder that is depriving you of sleep and thereby leading to your negative emotions.

One of the most common sleep disorders is obstructive sleep apnea. It causes pauses in breathing throughout the night that make it impossible to get the refreshing, mood-saving sleep your body needs. If you have this condition, a custom oral appliance from a dental sleep medicine expert or CPAP therapy in Boca Raton may be able to help. These treatments promote healthy breathing by keeping the airway open and functioning throughout the night.

You deserve to be happy. If you are trapped in the cycle of poor sleep and negative emotions, seeking professional could be the key breaking free and once again enjoying emotional equilibrium and high-quality rest.

Meet Dr. Mogell

Dr. Kenneth Mogell, a board-certified specialist in sleep medicine with over 10 years of experience treating sleep breathing disorders is the practice’s founder and primary practitioner. The practice has three South Florida locations: Melbourne, Vero Beach, and Boca Raton. To learn more about Florida Dental Sleep Disorders and Dr. Kenneth Mogell, contact our team at 844-294-7559. We accept Medicare, Tricare and most medical insurance!