Link Between Sleep & Mental Health

The website for Nurse Practitioner Programs, a resource for aspiring students, has published an article, “The Link Between Sleep & Mental Health: Why Bad Sleep Fuels Anxiety & Depression.”

The article concludes, “The connection of sleep with anxiety and depression underscores the importance of getting enough sleep for optimum mental health… The good news is that improving sleep habits may help promote emotional resilience and maintain psychological stability.”

The website for SleepFoundation.org published an article that outlines “how nutrition plays a vital role in promoting healthy sleep patterns.” It provide a list of foods that may help with sleep and the kinds of foods, drinks, and ways of eating that may lead to less sleep or lower quality sleep.

The website for the Cleveland Clinic, a nonprofit multi-specialty academic medical center founded in 1921 that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education, published an article under the headline, “6 Foods That Help You Sleep.”

It says, “One of the worst effects a lack of sleep causes is a high inflammatory response, which is your body’s way of fighting problems.”

The National Library of Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health, published research under the headline, “Effects of Diet on Sleep: A Narrative Review.” Results: “A narrative analysis of the studies revealed four key themes: tryptophan consumption/depletion, dietary supplements, food items, and macronutrients. The results are classified according to these four themes.”

Mental Health Crisis for Children After COVID-19

“The COVID-19 pandemic deepened existing health disparities and thrust children into a mental health epidemic, altering the landscape of health and wellbeing for a generation.” – Dr. Jatinder Hayre in his critical analysis of ‘entrenched inequities’ in the UK, The Lost Generation of COVID-19.

Dr. Jatinder Hayre presents research regarding Britain’s struggle with COVID-19 that highlights the way it has “fundamentally reshaped its social, economic, and health landscape… with excessive impact on children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.”

While these disparities were not created by the pandemic, Dr. Hayre explains how these issues were ‘thrust into sharper relief’ by the crisis. Dr. Hayre explains how, after a decade of austerity, education provision was already under-funded with the most deprived areas facing the largest proportional losses.

Dr. Hayre says, “For those already living in poverty, the combined effect of losing out on learning, school meals, and emotional support created a crisis of compounding vulnerabilities. Post-traumatic stress, heightened anxiety, and social isolation threatened to derail development at a critical juncture, with long term implications for children’s longer term mental and physical health.”

To address these disparities, Dr. Hayre suggests urgent policy shifts to prioritize mental health, from education reform to welfare provision, with “ring-fenced” funding for child mental health services.

“Failure to act decisively means condemning millions of children to carry the pandemics’ trauma well into adulthood, perpetuating cycles of poverty, ill health and despair.” – Dr. Hayre

He recommends free, universal access to pediatric mental health services, especially for the most disadvantaged.

Source: News Medical

Reference: Hayre, J. (2025). The Lost Generation of COVID-19. doi.org/10.4324/9781003312529.

Emotion regulation and mental health across cultures

Emotion regulation (ER) plays a central role in mental health, but the effect differs across cultures. A systematic review and meta-analysis has been published in Nature Human Behaviour.

This meta-analysis synthesized evidence on the associations between the two most-studied ER strategies (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression) and two mental health outcomes (psychopathology and positive functioning) and investigated the moderating roles of several cultural dimensions.

The findings elucidate how cultures are associated with the function of ER and suggests ways in which future studies can integrate cultural characteristics when examining ER and psychological adjustment.

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-025-02168-8

Nature Human Behaviour

Patrick Kennedy shines light on mental health, addiction

Patrick Kennedy shines light on mental health, addiction

The former lawmaker from Rhode Island sees a role for public policy in battling these problems.

By DAVID COHEN – 05/26/2024 05:33 PM EDT

Kennedy’s new book, written with Stephen Fried, is “Profiles in Mental Health Courage,” a title that plays off President John F. Kennedy’s best-selling 1956 book “Profiles in Courage,” which focused on gallant senators from John Quincy Adams to Robert Taft.

Patrick Kennedy’s book spotlights people trying to confront a range of personal challenges, as well as those around them.

“Often, in these narratives, we focus on the first person memoir, but we lose sight of all the other people who are affected by their illness,” he told host Dana Bash. “And I think that was the consistent theme throughout the book is, we really interviewed all the family members and co-workers, colleagues, because we really don’t have an appreciation for how this illness, which we say is one in four, is really one in one, because it affects everyone around the person who’s suffering.”

Kennedy saw a role for public policy in battling these problems. He lamented that multiple industries have seemingly been given permission to benefit from addiction, including social media.

“As a nation, the adults are letting the next generation down, because here we are having addiction-for-profit industries,” he said. “And it doesn’t just end with social media. Every other ad is from sports betting, and gambling is a major mental health problem. And it’s only going to increase because, like we learned with big tobacco, these companies that make money make money off of getting new subscribers, new people to smoke cigarettes…”

The son of the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) added: “Democrats used to be on the side of taking on corporate, big addiction-for-profit companies. And, unfortunately, I think we’re letting down our next generation by letting that all happen.”

Source: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/26/kennedy-addiction-mental-health-00160036

Ahead – Duolingo for emotional intelligence

Ahead is an iOS app built by behavior change experts.

Ahead is described as a “personalized pocket coach that provides bite-sized, science-driven tools to boost emotional intelligence. Think of it as a pocket cheerleader towards a better, more fulfilling, clearer-minded way of life.”

Here are excerpts from the associated website:

1) The journey of change may be long, but our sessions are quick. We get to the point and tell you what you want to know.

2) We help you take concrete small steps towards your goals. Learning just a bit, then immediately springing into action.

3) By managing your goals in a realistic way, we help you avoid tackling too much at once.

4) Effective, memorable exercises (jazzed with a healthy dose of humor) will help you stick to your goals.

A recent blog entry in the website is entitled, “Debunking the Myth: Anger Control Classes Benefit Everyone.”

See: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ahead-emotions-coach/id1570430177

Website: https://www.ahead-app.com/

We All Have Mental Health

“We All Have Mental Health” is a 5-minute animation designed to give young people aged 11-14 a common language and understanding of what we mean by mental health and how we can look after it.

For more information, a behind the scenes video, and to download the free, accompanying teacher toolkit:

https://www.annafreud.org/resources/schools-and-colleges/we-all-have-mental-health-animation-and-teacher-toolkit/

Anna Freud is a world-leading mental health charity for children and families that’s been supporting children and young people’s mental health for over 70 years, combining science with lived experience to changes lives.

How to Deal with Your Emotions

How to deal with your emotions and stop passing them to others

Cassandra Worthy, the author of Change Enthusiasm: How to Harness the Power of Emotion for Leadership and Success, believes emotions can have a uniquely strong influence on our personal and professional lives.

According to Worthy, emotions don’t turn off when we walk into a business setting or turn on our laptops, and we can catch the emotions of those around us, both positive and negative. This phenomenon is called emotional contagion, and it can have a significant impact on our mood and productivity.

Worthy suggests that suppressing emotions can lead to physical ailments and that it’s important to acknowledge and transform them instead of ignoring them. Emotions can be transferred, transformed, or conserved, and by becoming more self-aware of our emotions, we can transform negative thoughts into positive ones. This transformation can help us reach our goals and fuel our personal evolution.

Cassandra Worthy’s practical yet inspiring strategies can inspire anyone to authentically embrace change and find their own unique power of resilience during turbulent times. Using insights gleaned from her life and clients, as well as the tools and exercises she has refined over the years, Cassandra Worthy has written the playbook for anyone leading, influencing, going through, or embarking upon change.

For more about Cassandra Worthy, see: https://cassandraworthy.com/

Ad Council Initiative re: Mental Health Crisis

The Ad Council launched a $65 million multiyear initiative to address the mental health crisis in the U.S.

The new effort will unite brands, marketers, media companies and nonprofits. The initiative encompasses current campaigns below and new efforts to meet the needs of multiple audiences.

The Huntsman Mental Health Institute made a $15 million contribution to the initiative. In 2019, the Huntsman family made a donation of $150 million to create the Huntsman Mental Health Institute (HMHI) in Salt Lake City, Utah.

According to the Ad Council:

4 IN 10 ADULTS: Reported anxiety and/or depression symptoms in 2021, a fourfold increase from 2019. Black and Latina communities report even higher at 48% and 46%, respectively.

56% OF YOUNG ADULTS: Reported symptoms of anxiety and/or depressive disorder during the pandemic.

95% OF EMPLOYEES: Take time off due to mental health issues but cite another reason.

Sound It Out uses the power of music to help parents and caregivers have meaningful conversations with their middle schoolers about emotional wellbeing. The album is available at SoundItOutTogether.org and EscuchandoSentimientos.org, where caregivers can also access free, expert-vetted resources to guide conversations with their child about emotional wellbeing.

Learn about emotional wellbeing: https://sounditouttogether.org/emotional-wellbeing

Guide to conversations: https://sounditouttogether.org/prepare-for-conversation

Common emotions and topics: https://sounditouttogether.org/select-an-emotion-or-topic

10,000 Mental Health Apps – Effective?

Mental health apps have become so popular in the last few years that there are now more than 10,000 mental health apps available that generated nearly $500 million in spending last year.

How effective are mental health apps?

Researchers at the University of New England reviewed five different mental health apps to gauge their effectiveness in reducing anxiety symptoms.

Article: https://scrippsnews.com/stories/how-effective-are-mental-health-apps/

“Calm” is a smartphone app for sleep, meditation and relaxation with over 100 million downloads and over 1.5M+ 5-star reviews.

See: https://calm.com/

BetterHelp, an online counseling service, offers access to licensed, trained, experienced, and accredited psychologists (PhD / PsyD), marriage and family therapists (LMFT), clinical social workers (LCSW / LMSW), and board licensed professional counselors (LPC).

See: https://www.betterhelp.com/

In 2020, the Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry published a study, “Clinical or gimmickal: The use and effectiveness of mobile mental health apps for treating anxiety and depression” by Jamie M Marshall, Debra A Dunstan, and Warren Bartik.

Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists: https://www.ranzcp.org/

See 9-page report: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0004867419876700

Trauma Professionals – Psychotraumatology

Mike Miller is a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional with the International Association of Trauma Professionals. He works at the Yatra Centre, Asia’s leading trauma care facility, offering evidence-based trauma therapy to clients with a range of mental health concerns.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences.

IFS (Internal Family Systems) is an approach to psychotherapy that identifies and addresses multiple sub-personalities or families within each person’s mental system.

CBT (Cognitive behavioral therapy) is a common type of talk therapy (psychotherapy).

Certified Clinical Trauma Professional certification will give you the skills you need to transform your clinical practice and help improve your trauma treatment outcomes.

Become a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional with Evergreen certifications: https://www.evergreencertifications.com/certification/certified-clinical-trauma-professional/