Depression – Are Sleep Problems To Blame?

by Big Grey Mare

There are two different problems that people commonly have and at times, one may be causing the other. The first of these is sleep deprivation, either because an individual feels that they are too busy to be able to sleep on a regular basis or because of a physical problem, such as sleep apnea. The other problem that people commonly deal with is depression and this is a lifelong problem for many individuals. Did you realize, however, that the two of these problems may be closely interlinked and in order to overcome depression, you may have to overcome your sleep deprivation?

The first type of sleep deprivation and probably one of the most common is the fact that people tend to not sleep enough because they feel too busy to do so. The average human needs anywhere from six to eight hours of sleep every night in order to be properly rested. In order for you to be able to get enough sleep during the night you’re going to have to do one of two things. Either you’re going to have to set aside enough time in order to get eight hours of solid sleep every night or you’re going to have to exercise and make your body healthy enough so that it needs less sleep.

Another type of sleep deprivation comes from physical problems that we may be experiencing. For example, sleep apnea is a very common problem that causes a person to stop breathing during the night for several seconds at a time. Although this doesn’t wake a person up enough that they remember waking up, it does keep them from falling into a sound sleep for any period of time. This causes a lot of problems for individuals, including depression that is long-lasting.

If you want to overcome depression because of your sleeping problems the easiest way for you to be able to do so is to simply make sure that you are healthy enough to get a good nights sleep. If you have a problem with carrying around additional weight, diet and exercise healthfully in order to get down to a more trim figure. If you have a serious problem with sleep apnea you may be able to use a breathing machine which will help you to get the deep sleep that you need. Although it is going to take effort on your part, the good sleep that you get and the lack of depression that you feel will be well worth it.