If You’re Feeling Lonely – This Simple Tip Could Change Everything

Have you ever had those days when your spirit is just downcast?

You know the feeling, you’re surrounded by people, you have a loving family, but you just can’t seem to snap out of your funk, and you don’t know why.

But before you turn to medication or other measures, you might want to check one major thing that could be affecting your mood more than you realize.

Stop and ask yourself this simple question – how many hours did you sleep last night?

If you’re like most moms, it’s probably not much.

And if you’re a new mom with a newborn baby, you are probably really missing out on sleep!

Between feedings, crying babies, and trying to keep the house in order, sadly many moms struggle with being able to get enough sleep.

But experts show, not getting enough sleep isn’t just bad for the body, it’s actually bad for the mind.

We know lack of sleep messes with hormones, and causes unhealthy imbalances which can cause weight gain and a whole host of problems.

And now studies show, not getting enough shut-eye can actually make you feel lonely.

Scary Mommy reported:

“One online phase of this study, administered through Amazon Mechanical Turk, tested 138 participants over two nights and two days, allowing participants to sleep as they chose. The goal was to see what results yielded in regards to sleep quality and not quantity. The participants kept sleep logs and completed questionnaires about their social behaviors and loneliness.

In the second online phase of this experiment, over 1,000 people unaware of the goals of the study were asked to watch the in-lab recorded interviews. They were asked how they felt when watching and were asked to rate the loneliness of each person they watched on screen. The findings showed that if one perceived another as lonely, they felt lonely too. And the ones perceived as lonely were also the ones who were sleep deprived.”

And think about it, if you are feeling lonely, you are likely to give off that vibe, causing others to not want to interact with you much.

Feeling isolated, many moms then become even more anxious, and aren’t able to slow their minds down to rest.

And this vicious cycle keeps so many sweet moms stuck, and creates depression and anxiety.

But, we know it’s not just as simple to say “sleep more.”

Many moms struggle with insomnia, and even when they try to sleep, they can’t!

If you are a mom who struggles with insomnia, try taking steps to help get your body in the mood to sleep.

Avoiding blue screens before bed, limiting your caffeine intake, and participating in healthy workout activities are all things that are helpful to get your body ready for sleep mode.

And if it all possible, consider going to bed the same time each night – not the easiest task when you’re charged with taking care of kids – but any steps towards this goal will be helpful.

So moms, if you’re feeling lonely, please know you are never alone!

Reach out to trusted friends and other veteran moms and share with them your feelings.

And try to see how adding even an extra hour to your sleep schedule can impact your mood.

Did you realize not getting enough sleep could cause so many problems?

What are some tips you’d like to tell other moms on how they can get more sleep?

Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

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