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How Stress Affects Sleep
Modern life is full stress. With work, family and social life, adults can, at times, be overwhelmed by stress, causing negative effects on their sleep.
Sleep is a vital component of a healthy lifestyle that helps the body rejuvenate itself to prepare for tomorrow's challenges. When stress starts to upset a person's sleep, learning stress management techniques can help. Because sleep deprivation can cause a whole host of other problems during waking hours (including loss of focus and poor memory), treating stress-related sleep disorders is important.
One of the main reasons that stress affects our sleep so much is that stress causes our muscles to tense, preventing us from being in the relaxed state necessary for sleep. Extended work hours, children’s schedules and other elements of modern living keep people "on" all day long. Even after someone is done running around to keep up with a day's schedule, the effects of stress still affect his or her body. Managing and preventing stress is key to ensuring healthy sleep.
Tips for Managing Stress
Managing stress during your waking hours can have a significant impact on getting back some restful nights. Here are a few tips for minimizing or coping with stress each day:
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Develop healthy habits: Your diet, caffeine intake, smoking and exercise habits can all have serious effects on your levels of stress and, therefore, the quality of your sleep. Eating a balanced diet, moderating your nicotine and getting enough exercise can all help your body function its best, which will in turn promote better sleep.
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Exercise: Exercising gives your body a chance to physically work out the muscle tension that stress builds up in your body. However, try to exercise earlier in the day, as the endorphins that your body produces when you exercise tend to keep you active and energized for a couple of hours.
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Listen to something soothing in traffic: Because traffic is a well-known stress inducer, listening to soothing music or a book on tape can make your daily commute enjoyable.
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Manage time efficiently: Planning your day ahead of time can prevent you from rushing around and being overwhelmed with errands. Prioritize what needs to be done and realistically plan what you have time to do. Leave everything else for another time. This will prevent you from stressing out about not getting everything done. If you still find that you can't relax because you are over thinking your responsibilities, make a to-do list. Knowing that you have your tasks listed on paper may help put your mind at ease.
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Play a game with the kids: Hanging with kids (yours or a friends) can remind you of simple pleasures. Try playing a classic game, such as Monopoly® or Pictionary®, to get your mind off your daily stress.
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Practice relaxation techniques: Incorporate yoga, meditation or other relaxation practices into your routine. Learning how to tune out noisy distractions and get yourself into a restful state can be especially helpful in improving your sleep.
- Take breaks throughout the day: Taking two 15-minute breaks everyday to decompress and get yourself together is a good method of relieving and managing stress. Because the hustle and bustle of daily life often keeps you on the run, force yourself to take a couple of breaks each day to get some air and do something that makes you happy.
Resources
Apollo Health (2006). Stress and sleep. Retrieved January 16, 2007, from the Apollo Light Web site: http://www.apollolight.com/new_content/circadian%20rhythms_disorders/sleep/ stress_sleep.html.
Emsellem, Helene (2005). Stress and sleep issues. Retrieved January 16, 2007, from the WebMD Web site: http://www.webmd.com/content/chat_transcripts/2/111280.
Mama’sHealth.com (2006). Better sleep council survey shows 51 percent of Americans are losing sleep over stress. Retrieved January 16, 2007, from the Mamashealth Web site: http://www.mamashealth.com/sleep/stress.asp.
