Obviously, we are aware on how important sleep is. Whether we understand or not the full concept of what sleep can do to our bodies, we knew that having a day without sleep is terrible. Your eyes and body are heavy, your head hurts, you feel exhausted and you cannot concentrate. Your work and everyday function is greatly affected.

So, what is sleep anyway and why do we need it?

Sleep is a state wherein one is relatively suspended from sensory and motor activities. You can be totally or partially unconscious and while majority of your voluntary muscles are inactive. Before, it was thought that sleep is just a constant and regular block of time when you are not awake. With the advancement of science, scientists had determined that sleep plays a critical role in our body’s immune system, our learning, memory, metabolism and other vital organ functions.

As we age, the time we are spending for sleep lessen. From 16 to 18 hours a day for newborns, adults on the average sleep for 7 to 8 hours daily. And because we are all aware to this fact, many older people ignore their sleeping problems, thinking that it is normal. Adults still need 8 hours of sleep. How well you function for the day’s tasks and works greatly depends on the quantity and the quality of sleep you had.

Sleep is beneficial for us to react quickly, think clearly, improve our concentration and enable us to create memories. As a matter of fact, the learning pathway in the brain is very active during sleep. Losing even 1 hour of sleep has its price. Your ability to do focus and do physical tasks is greatly decreased resulting to lower performance in school or at work. Also, you tend to make wrong decisions when you are sleepy placing you at more risk.

Sleep also affects our mood. Lack of sleep is often linked to irritability, troubled relationships and poor behavior. Moreover, those who are chronically deprived of sleep are prone to depression.

Most importantly, it is good to our health. Sufficient sleep decreases our risk in having high blood pressure, heart problems and other medical conditions. It is also during sleep that certain hormones that enhances our immune system are at its peak. This might be one reason why a good night’s sleep helps you from getting sick.

Anxiety and depression are familiar conditions to us, but are also among the most serious illnesses in the world. Thankfully both these conditions can be treated and sufferers can live anxiety free for life.

There are times when we feel anxious and moody. Anxiety and depression are normal part of life. Who has not studied for an exam without having test anxiety, and then scored much higher for it? Anxiety can keep us alert. Depression, on the other hand, can slow us down, giving us time to reflect and recollect ourselves. In other words, anxiety and depression express moods that are familiar to everybody. Read the rest of this entry »

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most common behaviour disorder in children, affecting up to seven per cent of school age children. ADHD often coexists with other disorders such as learning disabilities or anxiety disorders or even substance induced mood swings. Some of the symptoms are distractibility, irritability, poor concentration, hyperactivity, impulsivity, insomnia. As children grow in to their teens the hormonal changes in adolescence can intensify the symptoms. Read the rest of this entry »

Bipolar disorder is also known as manic depressive disorder. It is a mental illness that presents itself as mood swings or mood cycling. Many people do not realize that there are actually two types of bipolar disorder. Bipolar I disorder is typically defined as raging mood cycling with episodes of extreme mania and depression, as well as the occasional mixed episode. Bipolar I patients may also experience psychotic or hallucinating symptoms. Read the rest of this entry »

While there have been many advances made in the mental health field over the last quarter century, with mental health professionals acknowledging more and more mental illnesses and how they develop, one aspect of mental health is still not widely discussed. This is the actual impact that physical illness has on one’s mental health.

In fact, few people who are not in the mental health field even consider the part that physical illness plays when it comes to mental health. Read the rest of this entry »