How Sleep Affects Your Mental Health (and Vice Versa)
If you’ve ever found yourself lying awake at 2 AM with your mind racing - replaying a conversation, worrying about the future, or scrolling on your phone even though you know you're exhausted. You’re not alone.
Sleep challenges are incredibly common, especially among high-achieving women and BIPOC professionals juggling multiple roles, responsibilities, and expectations. Whether you're pushing through deadlines, caring for family, or navigating the emotional weight of past experiences, rest can feel elusive. And yet, sleep is one of the most powerful tools we have for maintaining our mental and emotional health.
In this post, we’ll explore the two-way relationship between sleep and mental health, why this cycle matters for your well-being, and how therapy - especially trauma-informed, EMDR-supported therapy - can help break the cycle and restore both rest and resilience.
Creating a calming sleep environment using tools like an eye mask, soft lighting, and aromatherapy can promote deeper, more restorative rest. For high-achieving women and BIPOC professionals in Washington State, therapy can offer additional support by helping regulate the nervous system and restore healthy sleep patterns.
How Sleep Impacts Mental Health
You probably already know that getting enough sleep makes you feel better. But sleep doesn’t just give your body rest—it plays a critical role in mental and emotional balance. Here's how:
Improved Mood and Emotional Regulation
When we get deep, quality sleep, our brain processes emotional experiences from the day. Research shows that sleep helps regulate mood and reduces reactivity to stress. Without it, our emotional threshold lowers - making it harder to manage irritability, anxiety, or even feelings of sadness.
Cognitive Function and Focus
Sleep is essential for memory consolidation, problem-solving, and focus. Think of it as your brain’s time to "reboot." A rested mind is better equipped to handle complex tasks, make decisions, and show up fully in both professional and personal life.
Resilience to Stress
Well-rested individuals are more resilient. When you sleep well, your nervous system is better able to move out of “fight or flight” mode and into a calmer, regulated state. This helps prevent emotional burnout and supports your overall mental well-being.
Bottom line? Quality sleep isn’t a luxury. It’s foundational for a stable, emotionally balanced life.
How Mental Health Affects Sleep
The relationship between sleep and mental health goes both ways. Just as poor sleep can worsen mental health, emotional struggles can disrupt sleep. This creates a frustrating loop that many people find themselves stuck in.
When stress, anxiety, or trauma are active, the mind can stay overstimulated long after the day ends. Late-night scrolling, racing thoughts, or difficulty winding down are common signs that your nervous system may need support. Therapy can help calm the cycle.
Anxiety and Racing Thoughts
High-achieving women and BIPOC professionals often carry chronic stress - whether it’s tied to work, family, discrimination, or unresolved trauma. That stress doesn’t turn off at night. Instead, it can show up as racing thoughts, restlessness, or hypervigilance when your head hits the pillow.
Depression and Sleep Dysregulation
Depression can affect sleep in multiple ways. Some people experience insomnia, which is difficulty falling or staying asleep. While others may oversleep but still feel fatigued. Either pattern disrupts the natural rhythms your body needs to feel restored.
Trauma and Nighttime Hyperarousal
For those carrying trauma, sleep can be especially difficult. The body may feel unsafe relaxing, leading to nightmares, insomnia, or waking frequently throughout the night. Trauma can keep the nervous system in a state of alert, even when you're physically tired.
If this sounds familiar, know that it’s not just in your head. These sleep disruptions are your brain and body’s response to unresolved emotional patterns, and they deserve compassionate attention.
Strategies for Better Sleep
The good news? You don’t have to overhaul your entire lifestyle to improve your sleep. Small, intentional changes can make a big difference. Here are a few evidence-based, realistic tips:
1. Create a Calming Bedtime Routine
Routines help signal to your brain that it’s time to wind down. This could include:
Gentle stretching
Reading a physical book (not on a screen)
Drinking herbal tea
Taking a warm shower or bath
Practicing a short meditation or gratitude journal
Pick one or two calming activities that feel doable and stick with them consistently.
2. Limit Screens and Stimulating Content Before Bed
Blue light from phones and laptops can disrupt melatonin production - your brain’s natural sleep hormone. Try to avoid screens for at least 30-60 minutes before bed. If you must be on a device, consider using blue light filters or “night mode.”
Also, be mindful of the content you’re consuming. True crime documentaries, stressful news updates, or emotionally charged social media posts can activate your nervous system and make it harder to fall asleep.
3. Practice Relaxation Techniques
Breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, or guided meditations can help shift your body from a state of stress to rest. One simple technique: Breathe in for a count of 4, hold for 4, exhale for 6. Repeat several times.
Meditation and Relaxation app’s, such as Calm or Headspace, can be a great resource to help implement consistent relaxation practices. Make sure to set aside a consistent time daily (even if it’s 5 minutes) to use the guided exercises available in the app.
4. Set a Consistent Sleep Schedule
Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day - yes, even on weekends. This helps regulate your circadian rhythm, which supports more consistent and restorative sleep.
5. Make Your Sleep Environment Peaceful
Your bedroom should feel like a sanctuary or like a cozy cave (whichever resonates for you). Consider:
Blackout curtains
White noise machines or calming sounds
Comfortable bedding
A cool, quiet environment
If your space is shared or noisy, noise-canceling earbuds or eye masks can also help.
Simple nighttime rituals like skincare, aromatherapy, and dim lighting can signal to your body that it’s time to wind down. Consistent, calming routines help promote better sleep quality - especially for those managing anxiety, stress, or trauma-related restlessness.
Therapy for Better Sleep and Mental Health
If you’ve tried all the sleep hygiene tips and still feel exhausted or emotionally drained, it might be time to look deeper.
Therapy, especially trauma-informed therapy and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), can help untangle the deeper emotional roots that interfere with sleep. Here's how:
1. Processing Unresolved Trauma
When the brain is holding onto painful experiences, especially from childhood or past relationships, it often stays in a state of alert. EMDR helps your brain reprocess those memories so they no longer trigger a stress response, allowing your body to finally relax (day and night).
2. Managing Anxiety and Stress
Therapy provides a safe space to explore the pressures you’re carrying and learn effective ways to manage them. Whether it’s boundary-setting, emotional regulation, or learning to shift perfectionism, the goal is to give you back a sense of control and calm.
3. Restoring a Sense of Safety
Trauma-informed therapy acknowledges the nervous system’s role in sleep and mental health. Through grounding practices, psychoeducation, and gentle exploration, therapy helps your body feel safe enough to rest again.
You Deserve Rest & Support
You don’t have to keep running on empty. If you're struggling with sleep and it's affecting your mental health (or vice versa), therapy can help you reconnect with your body, calm your mind, and finally get the rest you deserve.
Looking for an EMDR therapist in Kirkland or across Washington State who understands the connection between sleep and emotional well-being?
Let’s work together to help you restore your sleep, heal what’s been keeping your nervous system on edge, and experience deep, lasting relief - efficiently and with care.
About the author
Angelica De Anda is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and EMDR Certified therapist based in Washington State. Offering virtual therapy and in-person EMDR extended and EMDR intensives for individuals ready to move through trauma, burnout, and stress with deeper, faster results. Her work is grounded in cultural humility, compassion, and a belief in each client’s capacity to heal.
