Poor sleep

What is it?

Wellbeing Tools

Poor sleep can cause stress & anxiety.
Prioritise sleep with consistent routines.
Seek professional help if sleep problems persist.

Here's more detail

Published: 26/10/23

Poor sleep is a common issue that can significantly impact your health and wellbeing. Young people often face a combination of academic, social and personal pressures, making it challenging to establish healthy sleep routines. Insufficient or poor-quality sleep can trigger a range of emotional health problems, including increased stress, anxiety, irritability and symptoms of depression.

It’s essential for young people to prioritise sleep as a vital component of overall wellbeing. Developing good sleep hygiene habits, such as setting a consistent sleep schedule, creating a comfortable sleep environment and limiting screen time before bedtime, can help improve sleep quality. Avoiding caffeine and heavy meals close to bedtime can also help you to sleep better.

If poor sleep becomes a persistent issue and negatively affects your emotional health, you can seek support from a healthcare professional or a counselor. They can help identify underlying causes of sleep difficulties and provide strategies to address them effectively.

Learn more
Tips for if you’re struggling with sleep:
Write down your thoughts before going to sleep
Practice meditation or take some time to relax (without any screens) before going to sleep
Write down a plan for the next day so your brain can switch off from thinking about this when you’re trying to sleep
Try to establish a regular bedtime routine
YoungMinds explains that there is a close connection between sleep and your mental health. If you’re having difficulty sleeping, this can make coping with daily life hard, and if you’re struggling with your mental health, you may find you can’t sleep.
If your sleep problems continue for a long time, the things you try at home are not helping, or if you are worried about an emotional or physical problem, you should speak to a GP.
Not getting enough sleep can worsen, or even cause mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.
Mind says: Struggling with sleep can feel difficult to cope with. It can affect your mental health and wellbeing. But you’re not alone and there are things you can do to make it easier.
If you’re struggling with poor sleep, you might find that you:
Struggle to cope with your emotions, like getting annoyed and angry easily, or feeling worried and tearful
Start to struggle more with your mental health
Feel physically unwell
Feel like you have no energy, and are struggling with concentration or with carrying out normal daily tasks
Struggle with friendships and relationships
Feel like you’re taking more risks
To learn more about sleep and mental health, visit the links below.
Blog: What to do if you’re struggling to sleep
Research: Sleep patterns amongst adolescents
Blog: Sleep problems
Blog: Sleep, anxiety and me

I went from completely hyper to deeply exhausted, but if I tried to go to bed the sleep would not come. I’d cry from being so tired but just lying down and not being able to switch off. I tried so hard. I’d lie there all night sometimes going out of my mind and not knowing how to calm down.

Becki

Don't be scared to reach out. Insomnia is heavy and overwhelming. Not sleeping can affect your everyday life, even simple tasks. Wanting help, whether it's therapy, medication, or anything else, is perfectly okay.

Anonymous

You’ve had a busy day and all you want to do is go to sleep, but there seems to be a constant flow of thoughts swirling around in your brain that makes this simple task almost impossible.

Laura