Can’t Sleep? Dos and Don’ts When You’re Up at Night

Here's what's happening on the HealthyPlace site this week:

• Can’t Sleep? Dos and Don’ts When You’re Up at Night
• From the HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs
• Video: Effects of Untreated Bipolar Disorder
• Most Popular HealthyPlace Articles Shared by Facebook Fans
• Mental Health Quote

Can’t Sleep? Dos and Don’ts When You’re Up at Night

Can’t sleep? When sleep eludes us in the middle of the night, it’s highly frustrating. We’re tired. We know that sleep is restorative and an important part of mental and physical health. We want to sleep. But we can’t. We feel tired, but somehow wired, too.

It’s not unusual to experience anxiety when this happens; tension and worry increasing with each tick of the clock. There are ways to deal with middle-of-the-night sleeplessness and anxiety.

When you can’t fall asleep or stay asleep, don’t:

• Constantly look at your clock, worrying that you have to get to sleep immediately because you have to get up soon
• Turn on the television, your tablet, your phone, or any other electronic device. These are too stimulating
• Imagine the consequences of lack of sleep; the more you think of the next day’s consequences for being exhausted, the more worked up you’ll become

When you can’t sleep, do:

• Cover your clock so you can’t watch the numbers advance
• Turn on a dim light and read something enjoyable or color
• Practice mindfulness to keep your thoughts and feelings centered; when you catch yourself worrying about tomorrow, take a deep breath and turn your attention to the here-and-now

Sleep is vital for mental health, and you don’t have to destroy your mental health when it eludes you.

Related Articles Dealing with Sleep

• Sleep Disorder Treatment (Sleep Treatment)
• Sleep Disorders and Mental Health
• Sleep Problems: Causes of Disordered Sleep
• Sleep Disorder Resources, Information, and Support

Your Thoughts

Today's Question: What do you do when you can’t sleep? We invite you to participate by sharing your thoughts, knowledge, and experience on the HealthyPlace Facebook page and on the HealthyPlace Google+ page.

From the HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs

On all our blogs, your comments and observations are welcomed.

• Bipolar Disorder and the Importance of Being Independent
• How to Draw Boundaries for Friends’ Partners
• Having a Really Bad Day? Here's What to Do About It
• I Have Borderline Personality Disorder Not Bipolar
• Can You Predict Mental Illness in Childhood?
• I Combat Self-Stigma with Books About Mental Illness
• My Early Signs of Schizoaffective Disorder
• When Talking About Depression Isn’t Helpful
• Is Summer Anxiety a Real Thing?
• We Better Understand Mental Illness by Reading Literature
• 3 Steps to Overcome Negative Self-Image
• 7 Consequences of Verbal Abuse

Feel free to share your thoughts and comments at the bottom of any blog post. And visit the mental health blogs homepage for the latest posts.

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From HealthyPlace YouTube Channel

I'm Hannah. I Have Bipolar 2

Effects of Untreated Bipolar Disorder

What happens when you go untreated for bipolar disorder? When I was diagnosed with bipolar 2 disorder, it took me years to realize the importance of treatment. I jumped on and off meds, but doing well while untreated for bipolar disorder never lasted. It only extended the process of getting on a good routine of medications. (Watch Hannah and subscribe to the HealthyPlace YouTube channel for more great mental health videos.)

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Most Popular HealthyPlace Articles Shared by Facebook Fans

Here are the top 3 mental health articles HealthyPlace Facebook fans are recommending you read:

1. Anxiety in Romantic Relationships -- It’s Complicated
2. Stop Emotion Contagion with Mentally Ill Kids
3. Find Eating Disorder Support Through Shared Experience

If you're not already, I hope you'll join us/like us on Facebook too. There are a lot of wonderful, supportive people there.

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Mental Health Quote

"Imagine meeting someone who wanted to learn your past, not to punish you. But to understand how you needed to be loved ."

Read more mental health quotes.

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That's it for now. If you know of anyone who can benefit from this newsletter or the HealthyPlace.com site, I hope you'll pass this onto them. You can also share the newsletter on any social network (like facebook, stumbleupon, or google+) you belong to by clicking the links below. For updates throughout the week, circle HealthyPlace on Google+, follow HealthyPlace on Twitter or become a fan of HealthyPlace on Facebook. Also, check out HealthyPlace on Pinterest and share your mental health pins on our Share Your Mental Health Experiences board.

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