An unwanted thought pops into your head. You normally wouldn’t dwell on this thought, but you can’t seem to stop. You can begin to worry about your mental state or feel distressed. If you haven’t had a good night’s rest in a while due to a sleep disorder, know that your lingering unwanted thoughts can get better.
In this post, you’ll learn about how nighttime rest deprivation can contribute to worsening unwanted thoughts and why you should treat sleep disorders like sleep apnea.
How Sleep Deprivation and Unwanted Thoughts Are Connected
Everyone at some point encounters a passing unwelcome thought. After a long, tough day, you may for one second think that life is too hard or be overly critical of yourself. However, when you’re rested, you can manage your thoughts, stop a harmful one relatively quickly, and move on. Getting enough sleep night after night allows your brain to have more energy and more fortitude to protect itself against unwanted thoughts like these.
When you are sleep deprived, however, your ability to control your thoughts becomes compromised, allowing unwelcome or scary thoughts to not only persist but perhaps spiral and deepen to the point of becoming overwhelming and distressing. This pattern can especially exacerbate unwanted thoughts in those who already struggle with mental health issues like post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, or anxiety.
Why Sleep Apnea Can Be Dangerous
With sleep apnea, you routinely wake up feeling as if you have received poor rest. Basically, with this condition, your breathing ceases for a certain amount of time, typically because the airway is blocked. To correct this serious issue, the brain wakes you up enough to resume breathing, but these episodes can happen multiple times per night. Needless to say, your brain doesn’t get the restorative sleep it needs, and it is exhausted! As a result, when an unwanted thought arrives, it can’t get rid of this thought as quickly, causing you to stew in thoughts you normally wouldn’t allow to stay.
Treating Sleep Apnea
Depending on the cause of your sleep apnea, it may be fairly easy to treat. For instance, with obstructive sleep apnea, the most common type, an oral appliance or CPAP machine can keep the airway open and air flowing, preventing apnea episodes and letting your brain rest. In other situations, further treatment may be appropriate, which is why it’s beneficial to work with a wide-ranging team of sleep experts.
In the end, if you’ve been experiencing persistent unwanted thoughts and feeling sleep deprived, there may be a simple way out of your mental struggles. Addressing the cause of the problem—your sleep apnea or other disorder—can give your mind the power to put unwanted thoughts in their place and help you lead a healthier, happier life.
About the Practice
Star Sleep & Wellness in Dallas is a clinic specially designed to help patients achieve better sleep. With sleep physicians, sleep dentists, nurse practitioners, a psychologist, and physicians assistants, our team can stand beside you for your entire journey from your first sleep test to more restful sleep. We work together to build a treatment plan just for you. If you would like to schedule an appointment, contact our Dallas office online or call us at 469-331-5505.