Can Poor Sleep Affect Your Mental Health? Exploring the Connection

Is it your mental health struggles that are making it hard to fall asleep or is there something going on with your sleep that is affecting your mental health?

Well, the answer is both!

Did you know there is a bidirectional relationship between mental health and sleep? This means that there is increasing awareness about how other methods of supporting your physical health can lead to an improvement in your mental health (https://www.sleepfoundation.org/mental-health ).

So what are some practical ways to improve your sleep?

One way that we encourage exploring is through

adding or subtracting different foods in your current diet. Nutrition for mental health has been a well researched and studied area of psychotherapy, which often gets missed when people speak with their medical care providers about disrupted sleep.

Let's start with some things you may add to your diet, fruits!

1. Kiwi = could reduce mid-sleep waking by 30% if eaten about 60 minutes before sleeping

2. Bananas = potassium and magnesium in high levels (relax muscles)

3. Cherries = high levels of melatonin

4. Berries (blueberries, raspberries and blackberries) = antioxidants (reduce physical stress ; lower oxidation in body)

5. Pineapple = high levels of melatonin

(https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/health/fruits-that-can-help-you-eat-your-way-sleep/mAHORGP4SiCVeAI1TFrAFL/)

Speak to your trusted medical professionals or nutritionists before making any major changes to your diet.