Life can be stressful and most of the times the stress we experience affects our sleep.
In other words when you are stressed out, you might not be able to get a good quality sleep or fall into a deep sleep.
Deep sleep is very important for your overall health because this is the period of sleep when your body repairs and restores itself.
The presence of stress raises stress hormone levels, and as cortisol rises you are getting stimulated to stay alert and cautious, your heart rate goes up as well as your blood pressure, so it might be very difficult for you to even fall asleep.
In normal situations cortisol levels are reduced in the evening hours, as the body prepares for sleep. But if you are too much stressed than cortisol will remain high even at night and it may interfere with the release of melatonin, which has a pivotal role in the regulation of sleep-wake cycles.
And here is where the vicious cycle starts, and how stress can easily disrupt your sleep cycles, because poor sleep itself can further make cortisol rise even more.
Stress has also been shown to decrease time spent in light and deep sleep, and increase time spent in REM sleep, and too much time in REM sleep was shown to cause daytime sleepiness and fatigue, which can further disrupt normal sleep cycles, increase stress and spoil the good mood.
Therefore, following a regular sleep routine is a very wise thing to do if you crave a life with less stress.
Good quality sleep calms and replenishes the body, improves concentration, improves mood, and sharpens your judgment and focus, and you will cope much better with stress when you are well-rested.
Research has demonstrated that on the other hand lack of sleep can make you more impulsive, and more sensitive to negative stimuli which can further increase your stress.
Little stress never hurt anyone it is normal, but you should not let it get out of control.
If it affects your sleep, then you must discover what daily stressors are affecting your sleep and how to handle it.
By taking steps in your daily routine, to make sure that you will decrease the stressors to be able to get the proper rest, know that you are already well on your way to a dealing with stress in a healthy way.
With attention, persistence and practice, you can break the vicious sleep-stress cycle, and soon enough feel calmer and sleep better.
You can try different stress management techniques and at the same time use some useful tips on how to ensure better night rest when stressed.
For example, try to sort out worries and concerns before bedtime, consciously choose a time during the day to deal with the stress you are facing, think about it come up with problem solving ideas if you can, but do not do that at the end of your day, in other words for the sake of good night rest, just try to keep bedtime a stress-free zone as much as possible.