Most people are self-aware enough to realize a sleepless night, or a night of constantly interrupted sleep greatly affects their mood the next day. So what happens after several nights of unhealthy sleep? That negative mood starts to become “normal” and the individual becomes less aware of it. This negative mood, according to Harvard, could possibly be where the first stages of depression and anxiety have been laid, and set a foundation for further and worsening mood disorders. Given the seriousness of persistent sleep disruption, the million dollar question would be how come I can’t sleep and what can I do about it?
I’m glad you asked. Verwell.com tells us one of the most popular reasons for stress related sleep disruption is overthinking. If you are bringing your work home with you, either literally or metaphorically, the thoughts from troublesome problems can make sleep difficult, and disrupt the process of transitioning through sleep stages. To go along with this, over scheduling your days tend to cause you to push your bedtime back, or rising time forward. All of this increases stress, which increases cortisol, the stress hormone. Which, without a doubt, only perpetuates the cycle.
WebMD gives a good list of how to counteract stress for a better night’s sleep. To oppose overthinking, we should practice thought management. The subject of our contemplations and our views on those tend to cause self-given prophecies, which we self fulfill. In other words, if you tell yourself you cannot stop thinking about something, you probably will not. On the opposite side of the coin, if you tell yourself you will not think about it, you have a better chance of finding positive thoughts. For those of us who change our bedtimes and/ or rising times in order to accomplish more, WebMD also gives the advice of delegating responsibilities. Most adults need between 7-9 hours of sleep and when taken as a priority, along with stress reducing techniques, can drastically reduce stress.
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