People always ask the following questions:
– Do I have stress because I don’t sleep well?
– Do I not sleep well because I have stress?
The answer is YES to both questions.
Stress is the number one cause of sleep problems, according to Mary I. O’Sullivan, and ineffective sleep is a major cause of increased stress.
According to Time, people who sleep between 6.5 hours and 7.5 hours a night, as they report, live the longest! People who sleep 8 hours or more, or less than 6.5 hours, they don’t live quite as long. There is just as much risk associated with sleeping too long as with sleeping too short. The big surprise is that long sleep seems to start at 8 hours Sleeping 8.5 hours might really be a little worse than sleeping 5 hours.
Mind Tools Limited pointed out that, on the psychological sides, deep sleep reduces sleep need. This stage of sleep is an especially refreshing part of the sleep cycle, unless you are wakened out of it, in which case you will feel very sluggish and may have sleep drunkenness during which it is unsafe to drive. Some recent neural network research also indicates that deep sleep may be important in helping clear the brain for new learning the next day.
A short nap in the afternoon can get your energized, or a high quality sleep at night will keep you sharp the other day. If we are regularly short of sleep, then our concentration and our effectiveness suffer and our energy levels decline. Therefore get enough sleep! Adequate sleep fuels your mind, as well as your body. Feeling tired will increase your stress because it may cause you to think irrationally, diminishes our effectiveness in our job, and can therefore increase stress. As our energy declines, we become less proactive in what we do, reducing our control over events. This means that a situation that is already difficult and stressful can become worse, needing even more sacrifice to bring it back under control.
The following are common symptoms of poor sleep. If you’re experiencing these symptoms on a regular basis, your sleep is showing the effects of stress. If you:
- Have trouble going to sleep and take longer than 10-15 minutes.
- Fall asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow.
- Wake up frequently during sleep.
- Wake up during sleep and can’t fall back to sleep.
- Sleep lightly and have trouble relaxing as you sleep.
- Wake up feeling tired.
- Wake up feeling aches and pains.
- Wake up feeling emotionally down.
- Wake up feeling tense and can’t seem to calm down.
10. Sleep less than 6 hours or more than 9 hours.
One suggestion for you if you experience insomnia, listen to some soft music! It may help you sleep better, to relieve stress and anxiety, for stress relief and stress management, to improve insomnia. Try this:
Stress no more! 