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Mental health and sleep go hand in hand.

How does anxiety affect sleep?

A man wearing a grey tshirt sitting on bed of bed in beige room with his head in his hands as he struggles to sleep with anxiety and depression.

Anxiety and poor sleep can exacerbate each other

There is a two-way relationship between anxiety and poor sleep.

How does depression affect sleep?

Depression has an equally significant impact on sleep quality and quantity.

Woman wearing white pyjamas holding her hands over face as she lays on her back in bed.

People suffering with depression will experience different sleep problems.

When someone is depressed, they often have trouble with their sleep in two ways.

So what happens to sleep when someone is experiencing them simultaneously?

A woman sits up in bed drinking a bedtime time to help her sleep better

How to sleep better with anxiety

1.

That said, experts generally agree nobody should be checking their phone within 30 minutes of bedtime.

These methods involve conscious breathing and breath counting to calm your mind as you drift off to sleep.

A woman wearing blue pyjamas sleeping in foetal position hugging a pillow on bed with white sheets.

How to sleep better with depression

1.

Set a bed and wake up time

Routine is the groundwork of quality sleep.

Dr Browning recommends setting a regular sleep/wake schedule to alleviate sleep problems induced by depression.

A woman is sat on the end of her bed with her head in her hands as she can�t sleep because of nighttime anxiety

Therefore, staying in bed when you cant sleep at night can cause trouble.

Alternatively, free lifestyle changes can improve your sleep, starting from tonight.

A woman with dark brown hair lies on her side staring at the back of a white alarm clock that shows the time as 2.30am

A woman with dark hair lies in bed yawning because she is so tired and ready to sleep

A woman sleeping on her front looking towards the camera in bed looking tired from not sleeping

Woman sleeping on a white bed

A woman with hay fever wipes stuffy nose in bed

A man places a sleep apnea CPAP machine mask on his face, a Tom�s Guide Sleep Week 2025 graphic (right)

A woman wearing a pink eye mask tries mouth taping to cure her sleep apnea.

A woman lies in bed with her hands covering her face, looking upset due to sleep deprivation. A Tom�s Guide Sleep Week 2025 graphic, bottom left

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