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Sleep

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Sleep

Page written and resources collated by Jude Mitchell, Lead Wellbeing Practitioner

There is a close relationship between sleep and mental health, mental health problems can cause sleep disruption and poor sleep can be a contributory factor in poor mental health.

Sleep can be disturbed in lots of different ways, including:

  • You might find it hard to fall asleep, stay asleep or wake early
  • You might have experiences which disturb your sleep, such as nightmares, flashbacks or panic attacks.
  • You may find it hard to get going in the morning
  • You may find that you are often sleepy or tired a lot
  • You might find that your sleep routine is disturbed, perhaps you are awake through the night and sleep a lot during the day.

There are many things which can affect your sleep; Stress, changed routine (for, example becoming a parent, working shifts or spending time socialising late into or through the night), problems with where you sleep or habits which affect your levels of alertness (everything from night time routines to the use of drugs and / or alcohol), can all cause sleep disruption.  Additionally physical and mental health issues can impact on sleep in a number of ways.  This shows how common sleep disturbance is, and most of the time they are short lived and easily managed by a change of routine or lifestyle.

Ongoing sleep problems can lead to changes in your mood, affect your cognitive functioning (make it hard to concentration, think clearly and feel orientated), make it hard to do the things that you want or need to do on a day to day basis and in some circumstances can increase risk of psychotic experience.

In the information below you will find a number of suggestions of things which you can do to improve your sleep, if you find that the problems are ongoing, or are starting to affect your wellbeing you should contact your GP to discuss it.

 

Self-assessments

To read some of these articles and other resources on our site you will need to The process is quick and you only need to do it once.

see all self assessments

Sleeping

Many of us have poor sleep at times and we can sometimes suffer from more troubling lack of sleep. This test can indicate whether stress or anxiety may impacting your sleep.

NHS Sleep self-assessment

Togetherall - Online courses

Togetherall is an online mental health community with a wealth of resources - available free to all staff and students.   To access resources from Togetherall you need to register for an account here . You will only need to do this once. This will allow you to access many of the tools on our site.
see all online courses

Improve your sleep

Managing Stress and Worry

Apps

see all apps

Calm

relaxation, meditation and help with sleeping

Headspace

Meditation, mindfulness, relaxation.

Podcasts and audio resources

Nothing much happens podcast

Bedtime stories for grown ups. Try something different. Let me tell you a bedtime story. It's a simple story, in which nothing much happens, you feel good and then you fall asleep.

Sleep with me podcast

Bedtime stories to help grown ups fall asleep in the deep, dark night.

Mental Health Foundation - wellbeing podcasts

Free helpful podcasts to help with mindfulness, stress, sleep, anxiety.

Articles

To read some of these articles and other resources on our site you will need to The process is quick and you only need to do it once.

see all articles

Sleep talk

It's not just how long, but how well you sleep that counts. Understand what happens when your head hits the pillow and take the first step towards better nights.

Sleep easier

Difficulties with falling asleep or staying asleep happen for many reasons; what may appear to be a short-term problem can become a pattern that's hard to break. Here’s how to help get your sleeping back on track.

My story - Worry about not sleeping kept me awake

Amanda has suffered sleep problems since she was a teenager. But over the years, she’s found ways to manage her insomnia.

Downloadable resources

see all downloadable resources

Mind A-Z of Mental Health

To print - choose your topic, then click 'view this information as pdf' then print

Sleep diary and checklist

A simple sleep diary to track your sleep and a checklist about good sleep hygiene

NTW Self Help guides

Active Wellbeing

see all active wellbeing options

Yoga for Wellbeing

This 45-minute session will include mindful movement, body awareness, breathing practice and relaxation

photo of a zumba group

Fitness classes

There are a range of fitness classes available through Hallam Active

See whats available

NHS Talking Therapies

See more NHS talking therapies options

Overcoming Anxiety and Worry

Our Overcoming Anxiety and Worry course helps you understand the effects of anxiety on your body and techniques you can use to overcome it. It’s also an opportunity to meet others who may be feeling similarly to you, although the session is not group therapy and you will not be asked to share your personal experiences with others. The course is free and runs for five weeks, with a 90 minute online session each week.

Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for Depression

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is a 9 week course for people who experience depression. It is recommended by NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) as an effective treatment for mild to moderate depression. It is also recommended by NICE for those who have recovered from depression, as a way of reducing the chances experiencing depression again in the future. MBCT courses combines two helpful approaches: Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Our MBCT courses are a great way to understand thought patterns and how to work with these in more helpful ways.