“Why Do I Get Depressed At Night?” Understanding How Sleep And Mood Are Related
Many people may find themselves asking the question, “why do I get depressed at night?” You may have wondered this while lying awake in bed at night or maybe even in the early hours of the morning. It might even seem like your sleep and mood are related. It turns out that they can be.
Sleep and depression
Sometimes, when you’re depressed, you may feel like all you want to do is sleep. Other times, it may seem like you can do anything but sleep. Or you might be able to sleep, just not at night. These patterns of sleep and depression could make you start to wonder if something is wrong with you.
Sleep, depression, and you
Sleep and your mood can be closely related. Understanding how they are related can help you live a happier and healthier life. Everyone is different, though, and there could be several different ways your mood and sleep are connected. It may take some time to determine how these two factors are related for you as an individual.
What is depression?
Some people may use the term “depression” colloquially to describe less than ideal feelings. Most everyone feels down sometimes, but depression is a serious condition.
Depression can be different for everyone who experiences it, but there are a few common symptoms. These include feelings of sadness or hopelessness, lack of energy, apathy, problems maintaining a healthy weight, and yes, abnormal sleeping patterns.
To be diagnosed, symptoms must persist for at least a couple of weeks. However, exceptions are sometimes made in the face of traumatic events like a death in the family. Depression can also be caused by other significant events like moving, ending a relationship, or losing a job. Sometimes, depression might seem to come out of nowhere.
If you think that you have depression, you may want to talk to your healthcare provider right away, no matter how long you’ve been feeling this way. Even if it hasn’t been a couple of weeks yet, talking to your healthcare provider as soon as possible can help. For example, you may want to establish when symptoms started and begin ruling out any other possible medical conditions.
Your feelings matter
It can be important to understand the difference between feeling depressed and having depression. That is not to say that your feelings aren’t important until a doctor says so. Life can be hard, and sometimes, it may seem like too much. This can be the case whether you have depression or not.
The relationship between sleep and mood
It turns out that there are several ways sleep and mood may be related. Everything that happens in your body – from how it functions to how you feel – results from a complex interplay of chemical reactions.
Sometimes, certain chemical imbalances can make your emotions go haywire, which can make life much harder and much less pleasant for you. It can work the other way too, though. That is, sometimes life is hard and unpleasant, and that can cause chemical imbalances. This can lead to a seemingly endless loop of negative feelings and circumstances, regardless of where the problem started.
There may be a silver lining, though. Just like one of these systems falling out of sync can throw off the other, focusing on improving one of these systems can pull the other back into line, too.
Sleep and mood: Energy
It may seem like you’re not doing anything when you’re asleep, but that’s not exactly true. The brain is busy converting memories from short-term to long-term. Your muscles and skin are busy repairing the wear and tear that they sustain every day. Your organs are busy cleaning your blood and extracting nutrients from your food.
When you don’t get enough sleep, these processes don’t happen like they’re supposed to. As a result, you might wake up feeling hazy and tired. You could feel like you’re unable to face the day. This could be the catalyst for a vicious cycle of feeling tired and stressed. When you can’t sleep, for instance, you may have trouble meeting your obligations. And when you have trouble meeting your obligations, you may feel stressed and have trouble sleeping.
Break the cycle
If you can fall asleep, doing so might be one way to break the cycle. Sometimes, we may treat sleep like a luxury, but it could be more like an investment. You might want to try prioritizing your sleep and see how your mood improves. Consider rescheduling things and even taking some time off if you need to. This can help you reset both your sleep and your mood.
Sleep and mood: Rest
Here’s a scenario you may find familiar:
You go to bed, turn out the lights, and close your eyes. Then, it hits you. You have a long day at work tomorrow. That will leave you little time to do all the errands and chores that you have to do – never mind your friend or partner who has been complaining that you’ve been neglecting them lately.
This is a common predicament, but you might wonder why all these things come to mind as soon as you try to relax in the evenings.
As paradoxical as it may sound, one of the reasons these things come to mind is precisely because you’re trying to relax. When you’re at work, you’re worrying about work. When you’re running errands and doing chores, you’re worrying about the errands that you’re running and the chores that you’re doing. When you’re paying the bills, you’re worried about paying the bills. When you’re trying to sleep, though, your mind may be free to worry about everything at once.
Actively relax
Perhaps one of the best ways to prevent your worries from ganging up on you is to be intentional about relaxation. This might cue your brain to focus itself on winding down. For example, you might want to have a “buffer” time before bed. This could be a time when you don’t check emails, look at your phone or computer, or even think about work. During this time, you might consider listening to soft music, doing some gentle yoga, or reading a book.
If those things don’t work, you might want to try a mental activity like progressive muscle relaxation. In this form of meditation, you breathe in and imagine the breath moving through your body to your toes. Focus on how your toes feel, then exhale and imagine the breath moving out of your toes through your body and out of your mouth. Repeat this step moving up your body.
Sleep and mood: Chemicals
Remember, your mood and physical functioning may be the result of chemical reactions in your brain and body. This means that any chemical imbalance can be double trouble. One of these chemicals is called serotonin.
Serotonin helps to manage your mood and keep you happy. Low serotonin is often found in people with depression. Whether depression causes low serotonin or low serotonin causes depression is still a topic of debate. Serotonin doesn’t only improve your mood, though. It can also improve your sleep patterns.
Several things can cause serotonin imbalances. Some people’s bodies may not create enough of it. Other people may not have enough active receptors in their bodies, or their bodies might flush out the chemical before their receptors get the chance to use it. Some drugs can also damage receptors.
Treatment options
Chemical imbalances may not be things that you can power through. Instead, you may need to work with a healthcare provider to determine the cause of any chemical imbalance you may have. This may be the first step toward recovery.
One of the most common solutions is a class of drugs called Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors or SSRIs. These drugs help keep serotonin in your body longer than it otherwise would so that your body has enough time to use it. It might seem like it would make more sense to give you serotonin, but this can lead your receptors to develop an intolerance – and that could lead to addiction and other problems.
Getting help
If you think that depression may be causing your sleep problems, perhaps the best thing to do is to talk to your healthcare provider to get a diagnosis as soon as possible. This can help you to get the care that you need. Many times, a combination of medical treatment and mental health counseling may be prescribed.
There may be barriers to traditional counseling for people experiencing symptoms of depression, though. For example, low energy combined with a lack of sleep could be keeping you in bed all day. This can make it difficult to attend an in-person counseling session. In this case, you might want to consider online counseling instead. Online counseling is also more convenient for many people since it can be accessed from the comfort of your home.
Whether you decide to attend counseling individually or with your partner, you can rest assured that internet-based counseling is an effective treatment option. One recent study demonstrated that counseling delivered via videoconferencing technology resulted in positive outcomes for couples and families.
Takeaway
Whether your sleeping problem started with a depressed mood, or you started having mood swings as a result of your sleeping problem, finding and addressing the cause may be enough to fix both problems. The tips above may be enough to help you remedy the situation, but if not, the help that you need is just a click away.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Why do I feel worse at night?
Depression and anxiety often go hand in hand, so feeling worse at night could be attributed to one or both of these. Symptoms of depression include a lack of energy, feelings of emptiness, suicidal thoughts, and loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed. Your risk of developing depression may increase with traumatic experiences, drug and alcohol abuse, and even based on your genetics. Different people experience depression to varying degrees even when faced with very similar circumstances, and depression symptoms aren’t always the same for everyone. Nighttime depression is even more common if you have insomnia and don’t get adequate sleep each night. Nighttime depression symptoms include restlessness, a racing mind, and anxiety. If you’re a night owl, you may find the nighttime hours more enjoyable than the daytime. However, staying up late every night may increase your chances of developing depression, especially if you aren’t getting enough sleep. You should monitor your sleep habits and mood closely and seek help should you experience any feelings of depression.
Why do I cry at night for no reason?
Crying for no reason is actually incredibly common and happens to everyone. Often there is a reason for crying, but you may be unaware of that reason. You may also have increased feelings of depression at night, causing you to cry more and for seemingly no reason. Nighttime depression symptoms include insomnia, trouble staying still, and suicidal thoughts. If you find that you’re frequently crying uncontrollably and always for no apparent reason every night, it may signal something like nighttime depression. If the crying happens consistently, even throughout the day, it could be major depression. Many factors can contribute to these crying spells, such as stress, anxiety, or even chemical imbalances. Each of these increases your risk of developing depression. These outbursts and feelings of depression can be incredibly hard to live with and impact daily life and activities. If you’re concerned about crying at night for no reason, you should see a qualified professional for further advice and assistance.
Is it healthy to cry every night?
It’s completely normal for everyone to cry at one point or another. Doing so even has health benefits. However, if you find yourself constantly crying at night, it may be a sign that something more serious is going on in your life. For example, it could indicate that you have major depression or are in the beginning stages of developing depression. Major depression symptoms can include physical aches, loss of interest in hobbies, irritability, and continual feelings of hopelessness. Crying every night does not mean you have major depression, but it is a possibility. It could be that you are going through a hard time or have just experienced a traumatic event.
Nighttime depression symptoms include insomnia, feelings of hopelessness, emptiness, and frequent crying. While crying can be healthy and release negative feelings you’ve been holding in, experiencing any of these other symptoms isn’t healthy for your body or mind. On the other hand, it may just be that you are a night owl or work the night shift and therefore are up more during the nighttime hours. In this case, it makes sense you’d cry more during the night because that’s when you’re awake the most. Whether you’re a night owl or not, though, it’s wise to seek the help of a professional if you’re concerned about crying for no reason. Feelings of depression can start suddenly and grow quickly, so it’s best to get help sooner rather than later if you feel like you’re developing depression.
Why does my anxiety get worse at night?
Your anxiety might get worse at night because you have more time to think and let your mind wander. During the day, you’re more likely to be preoccupied with work, errands, and other tasks. In other words, your mind is playing catch up at night and finally has the chance to dwell on events, experiences, and worries from the day. Worsening feelings of depression can also increase anxiety, especially at night. Depression symptoms include persistent feelings of loneliness, changes in appetite, and pessimism. If you have nighttime depression, your anxiety at night might also flare up too. Pay close attention to your sleep habits and try to get enough rest each night. Doing so will help both with anxiety and any depression at night that you may be experiencing. Luckily, there are many treatments for anxiety and nighttime depression that can help decrease these negative feelings. A professional will help you choose the best options for you should you feel like you’re developing depression or anxiety.
How can I quiet my mind to sleep?
There are many reasons people have difficulty relaxing enough at night to sleep. If you’re a night owl, experience major depression, or have insomnia; you may find it especially hard to fall asleep each night. Light at night can be very harmful to your sleep cycle and circadian rhythm. It’s important to turn off all electronics and not stare at a screen in the hours leading up to bedtime. Looking at a screen while lying in bed can make it very hard to fall asleep and lead to insomnia. Insomnia can increase your risk of developing depression as sleep affects our mental and physical health in many ways. Other helpful techniques for getting to bed include taking a warm bath, meditating, and journaling. Nighttime depression symptoms often include frequent worrying and racing thoughts. If you find yourself worrying a lot at night, try writing down all your worries on a piece of paper each night so you can get to them the next day. This way, your mind won’t spend time and energy thinking about them. Should you feel like you’re developing depression or have depression symptoms, it’s important to seek the help of a qualified therapist.
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