BellaOnline Forums Beauty and Self Stress Management Stress and Lack of Sleep

Numerous studies have been done on stress and sleep combinations. It is amazing how much less able the body is to handle stress and stress hormones when there has not been enough sleep!

Something that you calmly sail through when you've had ample sleep - suddenly when you're grouchy due to lack of sleep the same thing becomes a HUGE hurdle that you simply cannot get past.

Have you had stressful incidents due to lack of sleep? What is interfering with your ability to sleep right now?

Yes, I totally agree - it is more difficult to handle stress when you are not getting enough sleep. I have CFS, so it's essential for me - but often this condition makes sleeping difficult, especially if I have any situations going on that are causing extra stress. I find that taking natural herbal remedies are very effective for helping me to get to sleep when my mind is over-active. And little mind games also help - I make up little word games that keeps my mind focused on something completely trivial instead of the day-to-day "serious" stuff. Ros

I actually have either Ativan or Ambien for those nights when I wake up and realize my mind is racing too much to get back to sleep. The meds are essential for my Fridays, for example. I hate waking up early and I need to do that on Fridays for the RunPee business we do. So i find i wake up all stressed in the middle of thursday nights and can't get back to sleep...which means my Fridays are horrid for me due to being exhausted.

I try to remember to take an ativan to help me sleep though thursday nights.

I am not suggesting better living though chemicals. But for me, my sleep is important in the fight against depression. So i choose to take the meds.

I totally agree!!! I used to have insomnia, and that always makes me stress out. I get grumpy easily and worry at a snap even with little things. So I tried to get help with my sleeping problems and the stress was fading away. I use a positive thinking method though whenever I am under stress that is not sleep related :)

Sometimes its the stress that makes it impossible to get a good night's rest.

I just added an article to the creativity site about "stream of consciousness" writing. I have found it very helpful in clearing out the brain clutter to help de-stress and sleep better. There's just something cathartic about writing things out.

With two little kiddos, a good night's sleep is something I think I remember

Stream of Consciousness Writing

Sleep deprivation will only trigger more stress. Also, it will make your brain function more slowly that it is able to. Stress and sleep are co-dependent. If one gets enough sleep, he/she would be more immune to stress and he/she can manage it. Stress is also sometimes psychological. Thus, when you don't get enough sleep both your physical and psychological state is not in good shape. Hence, triggering stress. ____________________________

Definitely stress can interfere with your sleep, which then makes you more stressed, and it creates a cycle. So it's a chicken-and-egg thing. You have to tackle one area first. It is usually easier to tackle the sleep - to as mentioned use drugs, or a white noise machine, or journaling, or a long, hot shower / bath, or warm milk, or all those other tricks to get at least SOME sleep into you. Then that means you can deal with the next day a bit more smoothly, so you can then sleep a bit better, and start the ball rolling.

I finally had some decent sleep last night. let's see if I can do this again.

That is *awesome* Jilly - a great step in the right direction!

My husband and I just started a tai chi class about a month ago. It is wonderful for stress reduction and I sleep great for the first time in years!

I highly recommend it if you have trouble sleeping.

Wow that's great to hear! I definitely have heard from several people that when they began exercising - really anything at all - that it helped their sleep patterns. So whatever exercise you enjoy, get out and do it! Even dancing around the living room helps

My sleep has been improving, thankfully. I am really working on getting a non-vampire schedule going, and my new dr approved me for 20 tablets of ambien. So I will be able to get sleep on the really bad nights now.

I'm happy for you Jilly
Hope you sleep well tonight
And sweet dreams

Thank you Rosie. You cat is really beautiful, BTW. such luminous eyes!

Jilly - that is wonderful! Definitely, find ways to sleep peacefully. A healthy sleep is the first step towards having the best chance of a good day.

Tai Chi is a wonderful way to ease stress. Not only is it good for the body, but the mind as well.

I really like melatonin to help out. My friend who has been advanced to candidacy for a PhD in biochem says that any extra you take turns into antioxidants, and its pretty safe even for kids.
When I can't sleep I give myself permission to get up and do calm tasks or activities - seems to take my mind off of whatever and relaxes me so I can sleep, which is nice.

Melatonin becomes antioxidants? That sounds wonderful. I will go to my health food store and grab some. I have my ambien but i do not want to be addicted to it.

Does SleepyTime tea help anyone? It's been a decade or more since I've had some. I don't remember if it actually helps.

Jilly,
My sister and my MIL swears by Sleepytime tea. I found that it really didn't make me sleepy.

I drink the guanabana tea and that soothes me. So I'm sure we each react differently to different flavors.

I definitely find if I am just laying in bed wide awake that I can't "force" myself to fall asleep. But if I get up and start doing something too active, it makes it even worse. So I need to get up but do something quiet and calming. That helps my brain transition from the wakeful state into a relaxed ready to sleep state.

Absolutely if I do something too interesting my brain latches onto it and that makes things worse.

Maybe warm milk....

Hi Lisa,
I've never heard of guanabana tea. Is it sold in health food stores?

Jilly, I totally get that about the exciting part.
This summer my daughter got up and couldn't sleep. I was up as well. She asked if she could watch tv. I told her she could watch PBS - after all, their shows are all the type that are interesting, but not terribly exciting, especially late at night, right????
Well, Dr. Who was on! We are both totally hooked!
It was a little while before we got back to bed that night ;0

Heh, that is funny about Dr Who. Sweet.

I find if i start reading a book about decorating, for example, i get too excited to sleep. I've been known to move around furniture in the middle of the night after that.

Best for me is to read fiction at night, to take me out of my world, my head, and into someone else's universe. That lets me let go of my own ego and needs and finally sleep. Unless the book is TOO good and then i read it til the sun comes up....

Here's my post in the tea forum about it -

Guanabana Tea

it's from Stash I adore it.

LOL Lisa I *adore* PBS and easily get hooked on the shows they have! There are many times that I stay up late watching Pride & Prejudice or other similar shows.

I don't think any TV is really safe. You can easily get hooked on any channel that's on.

Even nature shows can get really involving.

Jilly -

there have been many times that I've caught up in a book and read it until the end even though the sun came back up. I find books to be very dangerous because I always want to keep reading to learn more.

For me only music is safe. Find some quieting music - set up a playlist! - and do something "mindless" like putting away dishes or washing the floor or knitting or so on. It can't be something with a real reason to keep going for a long period. I.e. yes you want to empty the dishwasher but it's only 10 minutes away. It's not a like a tv show which now catches you up for a full hour.

In any mental health problems is necessary to control the thoughts. In most cases, there are possibilities for stress, anxiety and depression. So your husband start exercise such as yoga, which helps control the mind and the power of concentration increase.

I was just reviewing a book on healthy eating and it had a large section on how important it is to sleep well in order to have a healthy body. If you aren't getting ample sleep, your body hangs on to body fat to protect you from the stress in your world. Your body gets into chemical imbalances.

So good sleep isn't just a touchy-feely "nice to have" thing. It's fairly critical for your overall health.

That makes a lot of sense. I know from personal experience. My problem is the trouble going to sleep. My mind is usually going a mile a minute when I lay down.

Right and definitely I have that problem myself sometimes. So all of those steps we've discussed are key to handling that - the quiet hour beforehand, the hot shower, the cool room, block ALL lights (including little glowy power supply lights!!), have herbal tea, journal in bed to release all those thoughts onto paper, keep a notepad by the bed so if you think up an "I have to ..!!!!" you can write it down and know you'll do it in the morning.

Do you meditate at all? That is *awesome* training on quieting your mind and it comes in so, so helpful at night time!

Never relaxing meditation. Always said I was going to try it.

Oh yes... For me, doing some journaling helps before bed. I also like to meditate before bedtime... though, really I think it's more of a visualization exercise.

Yup for me at least a reason my mind will be spinning is that I have things I'm thinking a lot about. So if I write them all down in a journal, it helps to organize them and get them out and documented. My mind seems more free to 'release' them once I have done that.

Another reason my mind will spin is I have something concrete I have to work on the next day and I keep thinking about it. So for example say I have an article I have to write. I'll keep thinking about it. So then I write it on my to-do list and I know it's all documented and set. It makes it easier, each time it comes into my mind, to gently say "It is on the list. I need so sleep now so I can give it my best tomorrow" and gently let it go again. By saying "It is on the list and is set there" I am reassured that it is being handled.

Meditation in general helps with that "gently releasing thoughts" aspect of it - of the acknowledging that something is whirling in your brain, and letting it drift away again. We should talk in the Meditation Forum about ideas to become better at that!

Every since I got my iPod it has really helped me on those nights I can't sleep. I either listen to a book to fall asleep (keeps my mind from racing and keeping me awake by giving me something to focus on) or I have collected about half a dozen relaxing guided meditations that I listen to to help me relax.

Those are *awesome* ideas Joan! The guided meditations sound like a perfect way to draw your mind into a quiet linear path!

Something that I experience a lot is that when the actual Depression (big D) starts rearing up, that I go the opposite direction and sleep way too much. Like all day and all night.

That is always one of my warning signs/clues that i have to take steps to recognize and deal with Depression before it gets worse.

I have a lot of experience when it comes to lack of sleep and the stress that comes with it. I have had 2 back surgeries in the last 4 years, and I have not had a good nights sleep since my back started to hurt originally 6 years ago. The nervous system is a sensitive thing, and sleep helps to regulate that system. When pain or other stimulus causes us to lose sleep, then our body goes on alert and does not perform the same tasks that we are used to.

Stress and lack of sleep also changes our eating patterns. A lack of sleep or not enough sleep can create cravings for foods that are salty, sweet or fatty. Once we eat these unhealthy foods, we are less able to deal with stress as our blood sugar goes up and down. Add to that mix the disturbed sleep because of our hormones and we really are in a loop! Good sleep habits (eating no sooner than 3 hours before turning in, a dark room, creating an emotional/mental sanctuary as you close your eyes is very important. Try the #1 relaxation recording to sleep deeper - Journey into Deep Relaxation - and life becomes a bit more manageable!

Thanks for the tips.

I think definitely a key message here is that lack of sleep can be a symptom of a greater problem. Yes you have to address the sleep as best you can - but it's far better to address the stress issue and resolve it. You can't keep putting a band-aid on the issue and hoping you can struggle through. Find SOME sort of a solution to the stressful problem. There are always small steps you can take to making things better.

Even taking tiny steps can make you feel much better about a situation.

Some ways for releasing stress:- 1) Talk with people. Surround yourself with positive people, talk with them or just listen. They can inspire you or help you. 2) Make sure your mind and your body becomes what it should receive, and he has the right nutrients intake. 3) Do regular Exercise. 4) Take a long walk regularly. Professional Psychologist

Been having sleep problems now for about three months. I wake up at 2 or 3 in the morning and can't get back to sleep because my mind just starts going wild.

Sleepless -

Welcome to the forums! Yes many of us have had that problem.

Training yourself to deal with racing thoughts certainly doesn't come instantly - but it *can* be done. That is a main purpose of meditation. Meditation helps you to learn how to release your thoughts. So the more you practice meditation each day, the more skilled you get at letting thoughts go. That way when you wake up at night, you know what to do, you let the thoughts drift away and you go back to sleep.

Have you ever tried meditation?

Effective psychologist therapy is an efficient treatment for reducing frequency and intensity of depressions or stress. Effective Psychologist Therapy