Sleep
Have you ever taken a nap when you’ve been particularly struggling? Balanced sleep is really important for good mental health but it can also be a really useful self-care tool for when you just need a break and to get away from your thoughts and situation for a bit.
‘I sleep when I need a break’
‘When I’m really struggling with feeling upset and I want to self harm sometimes I just retreat to bed for a bit. It gives me some space to calm down in a place I feel safe.’
The Mental Health foundation have created ten top tips to getting good sleep.
There are also lots of different meditations and visualisation's free on YouTube, designed to help you fall asleep. There are also free NHS apps which may help you if you're experiencing poor sleep.
In this video, Dr. Emma Morris gives some advice about keeping good sleeping patterns especially during any holiday period when your pattern may change:
What young people have told us:
'Sleep is so important for my mental health. When I get a good night's sleep I feel so much better.'
'Try, even if it can be hard when you're struggling; persevere!'
'Even though I struggle with anxiety and sometimes find it hard to fall asleep, having a nap or a full night sleep makes me feel so much better.'
'Give it a go! You may feel you have more energy.'
There isn’t much academic research in the area of self-care for young people who are living with mental health issues. We are trying to find out more about what works for different people so we can better advise other young people what to try.
If you’ve tried this activity when you were struggling in relation to your mental health, please let us know if it helped you and how by clicking on the ‘Did this activity help you’ button.