Those who suffer from stress and anxiety disorders find it hard to fall asleep. A fight with your partner, a stressful day at work, or a day-to-day event can leave your mind spinning. It won’t take long for your sleep quality to drop and develop a problem. So, let’s break down 3 ways to sleep better even when you are anxious.
Make a habit of going to bed and waking up at similar times every day of the week. Do not drink alcohol, coffee, or anything that causes heartburn before bedtime. Exercising is an excellent way to get a good night’s sleep because it improves both your mental and physical health, especially for those suffering from insomnia. Try having warm milk or herbal tea.
However, is that all there is to know about snatching some forty winks? Nope, there’s more to it! How does stress even affect your sleep? Or does lack of sleep increase stress instead? Keep on reading to get some better insight on how one affects the other!
How Sleep Reduces Stress
A regular sleep schedule is not only healthy for your body but also improves focus, controls emotions, and helps you make better decisions. You naturally become better at solving your daily problems after a good night’s sleep. It will help you handle stress more calmly.
On the other hand, not getting proper sleep can increase your stress levels. Many people, especially teenagers, take this lightly but it also messes up their mental health.
How Does Stress Affect Your Sleep?
Whatever it is that’s keeping you up at night almost always comes with a hefty dose of stress. It is tough to just shut down your brain and just relax when you’re extremely stressed. This especially happens when you are lying in bed with nothing to think about other than your worries.
If something serious has been bugging you lately, it will keep bothering you, especially when you are the least distracted.
Relationship Between Stress And Sleep
There is a two-way relationship between sleep and stress. Poor sleep can contribute to stress. Consequently, stress then contributes to sleep loss.
We know that stress is a part of everyone’s life. And, sleep plays a vital role in your life that regulates your mood and helps you work effectively. So, when we don’t get enough rest, our bodies will not have a great time managing stress.
As you can tell, it traps you in this vicious cycle that can be a headache to break out of. The relationship between stress and sleep is complicated, to say the least.
How To Sleep When Stressed And Anxious?
Here are a few tips to help you sleep better when you are stressed and anxious:
Eat Healthy Food
When we eat unhealthy foods, our bodies will react to them accordingly. Eating junk food on a regular basis will make our bodies more prone to inflammation and will struggle to deal with anxiety.
However, if we try to eat a healthier, more nutritious diet of fresh foods, the opposite will happen. It will energize our minds and bodies, which in turn will decrease sleep loss.
Start Exercising
A mild workout schedule will help with not just our sleep but also our mental health. Physical activity is an excellent way to stop negative thoughts and chronic stress from bothering you.
Although it will change your life for the better, keep in mind that exercising before bedtime is not a good idea. Instead, try timing it at least 3 hours or earlier before going to bed.
Make A Habit
Doing the same routine every day will trick your brain into accepting new habits. For instance, go to bed and wake up at the same time every day for every week. That way, your brain will learn when to shut down and when to wake you up.
Does Lack Of Sleep Increase Stress?
The longer you go without sleep, the more frustrated you will feel. As a result, this becomes a vicious cycle of tossing and turning, which increases both stress and the chances of insomnia.
Naturally, you will be tired and cranky the following day. This adds more to not just your mental health but also to your developing insomnia.
Stress And Sleep Disorders
Changes in the bedroom often bring about short-term insomnia. Take new parents, for example. They have to wake up in the middle of the night when their toddler is crying.
Aside from insomnia, stressing too much often leads to sleep apnea. This sleep disorder defines the constant collapse of the upper airway.
You can expect yourself to do a lot of snoring and choking while sleeping. It will also result in excessive daytime tiredness and other problems.
Mind Racing Can’t Sleep Anxiety
Mind racing thoughts are usually symptoms of anxiety. If you have experienced anything like this, you know that it makes people feel out of control.
Anxiety has a cyclical impact on sleep. When your brain is tired, it has a hard time focusing, which leads to even more mind racing thoughts.
Sleep And Stress Management
There are a number of ways to manage your stress so that it does not affect your sleep. Take some time to wind down before tucking yourself in, because having some quality time to yourself is very important.
After going through a hectic day, some quiet and peaceful time before bed goes a long way. In addition, treat yourself with a glass of warm milk or herbal tea to get rid of all the stress. Or better, take a warm bubbly bath or shower and wash all your problems away before hitting the hay.
Conclusion
As you can tell, it is not exactly clear-cut. Stress can reduce your quality of sleep. And in return, the lack of sleep will increase your stress level. How you deal with this vicious cycle is what matters.
The 3 ways to sleep better we listed above should be more than enough to help you catch some good shut-eye even if you’re stressed. As always, thank you for reading, and don’t let the bedbugs bite!
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