Sleep Problems
Get better Sleep and Stress Relief
Stress is the commonest cause of sleep problems and not getting enough sleep causes stress, here we go again, round and around we go.
Getting a good night sleep Is so important, it revitalizes us and gives us the mental and physical energy to cope with our waking days. Feeling tired or run down every day will eventually get to the point where physical and mental illness occur, as well as all the negative symptoms of stress.
Stress and sleep
Having sleep problems may only be occasional and may coincide with some worry or situation such as an interview. Unfortunately these are the times when we need to be at our best to cope.
Why this happens is down to the good old fight or flight response our bodies go into when extra demands are made. Chemicals and hormones such as Cortisol are released into our blood stream and this affects our ability to relax and get to sleep.
The symptoms of stress on the sleeping pattern
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picture by Mikecpeck flickr.com |
Stress can cause different types of sleeping problems and disrupts our normal sleeping pattern. You may find that your sleep is disturbed because:
- Not being able to get to sleep
- Waking up frequently throughout the night
- Waking up early in the morning
- Waking up feeling un-refreshed
On average an adult needs around 7 hours of good sleep every night. However the occasional night of bad sleep or not getting enough sleep will not have any real negative effects apart from feeling tired the next day. It is unlikely that your thought processes will be disrupted enough to cause difficulties. But when insomnia becomes a regular habit, this is when you can begin to suffer longer term health issues.
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If stress is affecting your sleeping patterns then it is time to start to make changes to break the stress and sleep spiral.
1. If you lay awake and cannot get worrying thoughts out of your head - get up and do something else. Lying there will only intensify the worry and the less likely you will be to get to sleep.
2. If you find yourself dreaming a lot and waking up feeling tired, you need to ask yourself what is causing these dreams to happen. As soon as you wake up write down the dream in as much detail as possible and see if a pattern emerges as to what the root cause could be. Then tackle that cause.
How to get better sleep
When sleep problems caused by stress becomes a real issue it is vital that you make some changes to ensure that you get better sleep and get back to your normal sleeping patterns.
There are some ways you can try to overcome sleeping problems and tackle stress too.
- Before going to bed, spend some time relaxing – have a hot bath with aromatherapy oils, drink a hot milky drink, listen to relaxing music.
- Cut out coffee, tea and alcohol at least 2 hours before bedtime.
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Make sure your bedroom is warm, quiet and dark.
- Do not take naps through out the day
- Go to bed and wake up at the same time everyday regardless of how tired you are.
- Make your bedroom a place where you only sleep, this associates this room with sleeping.
- Try to take some exercise every day
- Visualise somewhere nice when you close your eyes or try to remember the names of say a football team. These distractions will prevent unwanted thoughts creeping in.
- Do some relaxation exercises at bedtime where you tense and relax various muscles one after the other.
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