GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — During Sleep Awareness Month, a neurologist is reminding people that sleep quality affects your overall health.

The National Sleep Foundation reports nearly seven in ten Americans who are dissatisfied with their sleep also experience mild or greater levels of depressive symptoms. Dr. Kelly Waters, a neurologist and sleep specialist with Corewell Health in Grand Rapids, said sleep sets the tone for the day.

“Sleep is very important for how you feel, both when you first wake up and then through the day. It sets the tone. If you’re not sleeping well, you’re kind of behind the 8-ball when you wake up. You’re out of focus, your threshold, your patience is lower,” said Waters.

She said sleep quality starts during the day.

“As much as you do, think, process, exercise, is what sleep is meant to recover from. The deep stage of sleep is muscle repair. The dream stage of sleep is memory processing. So, what you learn, what you’ve done through the day, all the decisions you’ve made get formalized and you actually kind of process it in your sleep,” Waters explained.

She advised anyone who works from home to create a separate working space because working close to where you sleep can cause problems. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society recommend adults get at least 7 hours of sleep per night.