18 Secrets To Getting A Good Night’s Sleep When You Are Depressed

As if depression weren’t already bad enough, it can also prevent you from sleeping well – which then forms a vicious circle because not getting enough sleep can make your mood and your depression even worse.

So, this guide describes a number of tips on how to increase your chances of getting a good night’s sleep – even if you suffer from depression.

Avoid Alcohol, Caffeine, And Smoking

Drinking alcohol can disturb your sleep pattern, so try to avoid it if you can. (It’s not actually a great idea to drink it anyway, particularly if you’re depressed.)

And caffeine is, of course, a stimulant that is well-known for keeping you awake. (This is why so many people rely on coffee to wake them up and get them going in the morning.)

Decaf coffee can help, but I would suggest finding alternative drinks, especially in the hours before bedtime.

Lastly, nicotine too is a stimulant, and should therefore be avoided in the hours before bedtime.

Avoid Exercising Late In The Day

If you exercise in the late evening / night, it is likely to stimulate your body and make it harder to get a good night’s sleep.

Exercising in the morning or early afternoon has been found to result in better sleep – and it’s a great strategy for dealing with depression anyway.

Be Comfortable

If there’s one thing that’s guaranteed to ruin your sleep, it’s being uncomfy.

There are a number of aspects to this one though, so make sure:

1. Your bed, especially your mattress, is right for you. Remember that mattresses should be changed every 8 – 15 years (although you can “cheat” once by flipping it).
2. Your pillows are right for you, and do not put too much strain on your neck.
3. Your night clothes (e.g. pajamas, nightie) are comfy, if you wear them. (There are studies that demonstrate health benefits to sleeping in the nude, which I always found more comfy anyway.)
4. The bedroom is the right temperature – 60 to 67 degrees Fahrenheit (16 – 19 Celsius) is recommended. Generally speaking, it is better for the room to be slightly too cool than too warm.
5. There is little to zero light, as discussed elsewhere in this guide.

Do A Security Check – Once

Many people become anxious as they’re lying in bed, wondering whether they locked the front door, or turned off the television, etc.

Since these worries can keep you awake, feel free to go around the house once only, before you go to bed, to make sure everything is as it should be.

Not only will this allay your fears about disaster striking during the night because you forgot something, but making this part of your regular pre-bedtime routine can also help.

Don’t Clock Watch

Most people have an alarm clock in their bedroom, but it is advisable to turn it so you cannot see the face from your bed.

This is to avoid “clock-watching”, a habit that can be hard to break, where you constantly look to see what time it was.

When my first wife was depressed, she would often report, in the morning, that she had seen the clock display 11:11, 12:12, 1:1, 2:2, etc. It almost became a game for her, and I thought, even back then (over 15 years ago now) that the pattern she was creating was only going to make sleeping harder than it already was for her.

Don’t Lie There Awake

If you are having trouble getting to sleep, and you’ve been lying there for a while, it is better to get up and go to another room, where you can do something like listen to relaxing music, then to just stare at the ceiling, getting frustrated at your inability to sleep.

Establish A Regular Sleeping Pattern

Your body (and mind) will respond best if you can try to go to bed at the same time each night, and get up at the same time each morning.

Unfortunately, even if you break this regular pattern only at the weekend, the quality of your sleep can still suffer.

Get Enough Sunlight

Natural daylight is essential for a healthy body and a healthy mind. Not only does it help provide us with energy throughout the day, but it also helps us sleep at night.

Exposure to sunlight also helps control our circadian rhythm, and it has the added benefit of stimulating Vitamin D production – a vitamin that has been linked to mental health.

If it’s not practical to get out in the sun, then one option that can be a reasonable substitute is a light therapy box, which is often used to help people who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). These can provide a light that is close to sunlight, and offers many of the same benefits.

I used to sit in front of one for half an hour when I was depressed, as soon as I’d returned from my early morning walk, and I did find it helpful.

Get Up As Soon As You’re Awake

When you wake up, you should try to get out of bed within 15 minutes. Going back to sleep, or lying there awake for ages, is not good for your sleep patterns (even though I know we have probably all done this).

Herbal Supplements

Firstly, I would not recommend taking prescription sleeping tablets unless you really have no other choice. Not only do they all come with a long list of possible side-effects (e.g. constipation, diarrhoea, dizziness, daytime drowsiness, headaches, stomach aches, and uncontrollable shaking), but they can be more addictive than you realize (or will be told).

So, herbal supplements are a good alternative for many people, not least because they are rarely addictive.

Here are a few of the more popular ones you could try:

• Ashwaganda is a herb used in Ayurvedic medicine that can help with sleep
• Lavender is perhaps the most well-known aromatherapy oil, used to help calm you down and relax you, but it is also a sleep aid. You can apply the oil topically (provided it’s mixed with a carrier oil), you can diffuse it, you can get lavender bath salts for a relaxing soak, or you can make lavender lemonade, so you have plenty of choices here.
• Magnesium is a vital mineral for hundreds of biochemical reactions in our body, and it’s something most Americans are deficient in. (As with most nutrients, it’s best if you get it from your diet, but supplements are still better than nothing.)
• Melatonin is a hormone that helps to regulate sleep, so using this as a supplement can help you sleep better.
• Valerian, often used in drop form, is another natural herbal sleep aid (and one that I used when I was depressed to great effect).

If you are going to try any of these, then do make sure you buy a high-quality product, with as few ingredients as possible.

Journal Your Thoughts

By the end of the average day, our minds are full of all sorts of stuff – business problems, thing you need to do the next day, arguments you may have had, pleasant memories, ideas, etc.

Trying to go to sleep with all of this on your mind is going to be difficult.

So, try writing down all of these thoughts in a journal during the hour before bedtime, to get them out of your head and on to paper. This also means you won’t be lying in bed worrying about whether you’ll forget something come morning time.

Manage Your Fluid Intake Sensibly

Firstly, staying adequately hydrated at all times allows your body (and mind) to operate optimally.

While you may have heard about the “eight glasses of water a day” guideline, it is generally accepted that a better recommendation is to drink 1 fluid ounce of water for every 2 pounds of body weight (which equates to approximately 30 ml for every 907 grams of body weight).

Secondly, and perhaps somewhat obviously, the more you drink shortly before going to bed, the greater the chances of you having to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom – and we probably all know how difficult it can be to get back to sleep again afterwards.

No Late Night Eating

Eating too close to bedtime can also disrupt your sleep patterns.

It is therefore recommended that you don’t eat any snacks within two hours of going to bed, and that you avoid larger meals for at least three hours.

One approach would be to use the “eating window” method, as advised by some intermittent fasting diets. In essence, this means you should only eat within a certain timeframe during the day, which can be anywhere from 4 – 20 hours, depending on your needs and situation. If you set your eating window from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, say, then you probably won’t need to worry about eating too close to bedtime.

Relax Before Bed

This should last about an hour, on average, and might involve any of the following:

• Going for a soak in a bathtub (maybe using lavender bath salts)
• Meditating
• Mindfulness
• Tai Chi
• Writing in your journal / gratitude journal
• Yoga

Take A Nap

More and more research is suggesting that our ancestors used to sleep twice a day.

The knack is to keep your nap somewhat short – ideally no more than 30 minutes – otherwise it can actually make sleeping at night more difficult.

I used to do this when I was depressed, and because I know that once I fall asleep, I’m liable to stay asleep for hours, I set an alarm to ensure I would not sleep for too long.

Try A White Noise Machine

As odd as it sounds, to me at least, some people apparently find it hard to sleep in absolute silence.

A white noise generator can help in such cases, so look for a white noise machine, or search for apps (e.g. nature sounds) on your phone – just remember to turn your phone upside down to avoid the blue light from the screen.

Try To Avoid Blue Lights

Just like daylight, blue light is a signal to your body that it should be awake.

The problem is, a lot of our electronic devices (e.g. televisions, tablets, smartphones) emit some form of blue light. Even some digital clocks can be enough to throw your body’s sleep rhythm out of whack.

This is why it is recommended that you avoid using these devices in your bedroom, or even shortly before bedtime. While it may seem extreme and impossible to achieve, there are those who say you should not use these devices after 8:00 pm, and not watch TV after 9:00 pm.

If you really cannot go without your TV or phone this early in the evening, then at least try a pair of blue light blocking glasses, which will eliminate most of that blue light. (You can either buy regular glasses, or clip-ons that go over the top of your existing spectacles.)

Use Your Bedroom For Its Intended Purposes

Your bedroom should only be used for what are known as “the three S’s” – that’s sleep, sex, and sickness.

In other words, however tempting it may be, try to avoid watching TV in your bedroom, or using your laptop or phone or tablet.

Also, as discussed earlier, try to eliminate not just blue light, but all light. For this, you can either go with curtains / drapes that block out all light, or you can wear a sleep mask.

Bonus Tip

I always used to read in bed, maybe for a few minutes, and sometimes for much longer.

I did this because I thought it would relax me before going to sleep – but that’s actually not what happened at all.

Instead, regardless of what I was reading (either fiction or non-fiction), it seemed to switch my brain on – meaning many nights it took me another hour or more to nod off after I’d put my book down.

I decided to stop reading at bedtime, and although it felt wrong and weird, I started sleeping much better.

I know that some people recommend reading, as a relaxation aid, but for me, it had the opposite effect. True, I found the reading part enjoyable and relaxing, but it was what it did to my mind once I stopped that caused the problems.

So, if you read at bedtime (or even just before) and you have trouble getting to sleep, try going cold turkey and leave those books alone.

Conclusion

While many of the above are good idea for anybody with sleep problems, some are more specific to those with depression.

Don’t feel like you have to try all of them at once – start with one or two that seem most appropriate to you and your situation, and then see what works.

Additional Resources

These are suggestions for those who wish to delve deeper into any of the above:

1. Blue Light Blocking Glasses
2. Blue Light Blocking Glasses (Clip-Ons)
3. Drink Water Hypnosis Program
4. Light Therapy Box
5. Meditation Book
6. Mindfulness Course
7. Power Nap Book
8. Power Nap Hypnosis MP3
9. Sleep Mask
10. Sunlight Lamp
11. Tai Chi Books
12. Tai Chi Courses
13. White Noise Machine (This is the one I use.)
14. Yoga Book
15. Yoga Courses