Why sleep is a 'daily therapy session' for your brain

Our mental well-being is also linked to the quality of our sleep, says psychiatrist Petra Beschoner. "Sleep is like a daily therapy session for the brain," said Beschoner, a specialist in psychiatry, psychotherapy and psychosomatic medicine.

If we miss out on overnight recovery, our emotional balance can quickly be thrown off, says Beschoner, medical director of a psychotherapy clinic in Germany. Emotional strains would then become increasingly difficult to offset, she says.

This can have consequences particularly in the long term: Anyone who sleeps too little or has restless nights over a longer period will react more sensitively to stress and develop depressive or anxious symptoms more often, Beschoner says.

Learning and performance also suffer with persistently poor sleep.

What can we do to sleep better?

Healthy sleep cannot be forced, but it can be encouraged. What can help, according to Beschoner:

• Give the brain enough time to wind down before going to bed.

• See the night as a protected phase of recovery.

• Keep regular bedtimes and wake-up times.

• Sleep in a darkened bedroom.

• Consciously avoid screens and bright light in the last hours before sleep.

• If you tend to brood, write down worries or tasks before going to bed.

• If problems persist long term, seek professional support.

In some circumstances, sleeping pills can also provide relief, but they should only be used temporarily and under medical supervision.

Do I have a sleep disorder?

The occasional bad nights spent lying awake because your mind will not stop racing don't necessarily mean you have a sleep disorder.

A sleep disorder in the medical sense is only when problems falling asleep or staying asleep occur at least three times a week over a period of more than three weeks and noticeably impair daytime well-being, the specialist says.

A developing sleep deficit can show up in everyday life like this:

• You can hardly get out of bed in the morning despite enough time in bed.

• At midday, you struggle with lapses in concentration.

• In the evening, you already feel anxious about the next restless night.

• You brood as you fall asleep or wake up at night with a racing pulse.