With Carissa Beu
Many aspects of a person’s world can contribute to the problems they may be experiencing. These can come from a biological, psychological, social, and societal standpoint, and could include things like inadequate nutrition, work stress, relationship problems, and lack of support from our societal systems such as our healthcare, justice system or educational system. A biological aspect which affects many parts of our life that deserves our attention is sleep.
Sleep plays an important role in many processes in our body including cell repair, immune function, energy conservation, hormonal balance, weight management, cardiovascular health and detoxification. It plays an equally important role in our mental health. When we sleep, our minds process experiential and emotional information and consolidates our memories. These processes in turn aid cognitive function, emotional regulation, mood regulation, stress resilience, improve response to therapeutic interventions, decrease some psychiatric symptoms, and reduce severity of conditions such as anxiety and depression. Ensuring adequate sleep has many benefits and is essential for overall mental health. The ways in which counselling can help with sleep disturbances can range from person to person. It can incorporate mindfulness approaches like journalling or breathing exercises to calm the body and mind to help with falling asleep. It can assess and address sleep practices, working on creating new healthy bedtime routines and habits. Lastly, therapy can work on the deeper memories, emotions, and thoughts that may inhibit the nervous system from feeling safe to relax allowing for restful sleep.