The Relationship between Stress and Sleep
With work, school, family, community responsibilities and more, it’s easy to become stressed. While it’s normal to feel stress from time to time, chronic stress can lead to serious health issues like high blood pressure, digestive disorders, and heart disease. Too much stress can also prevent you from getting a good night’s sleep, which can cause additional health issues. It’s important that you find ways to manage stress.
Implement several of the following tactics in your daily routine:
Exercise
30 minutes or more of heart rate-elevating exercise each day makes it easier to fall asleep at night and sleep more soundly. Many people lay awake at night because they have excess energy from the day. By getting a good workout in, you will cut down on the time you spend staring at the ceiling.
Turn off the phone/TV/tablet
Studies have shown that having 30 screen-free minutes before bed improves quality of sleep. Looking at a screen before bed also decreases the amount of melatonin released by your body, and increases how long you’ll lay in bed before falling asleep. Make sure to reduce the blue light filter on your phone a few hours before bedtime. Also, try winding down from the day by talking with your spouse, reading a book, or listening to music.
Meditation or Yoga
Performing relaxation exercises can reduce stress and improve your quality of sleep. Deep breathing, positive visualization and other exercises can decrease the tendency to worry or stress over every day concerns and improve your health too.
For help with sleep disorders or assistance with finding ways to cope with stress, set up an appointment with one of our physicians today.
