SLEEP IS AN ANTIDOTE TO STRESS
Unfortunately, stress is a part of life. At some point, everyone is stressed. Physical, emotional, and other types of stress weigh on our minds and bodies. This is why sleep is so important. Sleep is an antidote to stress.
Our body uses sleep to restore and recuperate. While we sleep, our body performs important restorative functions. Our brain gets rid of toxins and sorts out events that have happened throughout the day.
Our bodies also repair and restore themselves. It’s quite amazing how active our minds and bodies stay even when we sleep.
3 reasons why sleep is an antidote to stress
STRESS AFFECTS THE MIND AND BODY
Stress wreaks havoc on our minds and bodies. Stress causes the release of cortisol, a powerful hormone that triggers the fight or flight response in our body.
This hormone can cause overwhelming sensations in the body, increase blood pressure and cause anxious feelings.
Restful sleep helps lower cortisol levels and balance brain and body chemistry.
Chronic stress without enough sleep can increase your risk of heart disease and stroke.
STRESS AFFECTS OUR MOOD
Stress affects our mood. When we are depressed, we do tend to under-react or over-react. This can lead to an avalanche of problems.
Living with a heightened sense of worry or anxiety can lead to overeating or under-eating, emotional outbursts or withdrawal, or a wide range of other behaviors.
After a long, stressful day, the best thing to regulate mood swings is a good night’s sleep.
STRESS AFFECTS OUR RELATIONSHIPS
Stress changes the way we engage with others. Being worried, anxious, or overwhelmed makes it harder to be present and positively engage with others.
From colleagues to family, stress can shatter relationships if we’re not careful. Being able to disconnect from people and take time for yourself can help.
Sleep offers considerable time to recharge and prepare to face the world again. Even relaxing in bed before sleep can help rebuild your energy and make you get along easier.
SLEEP IS THE ANTIDOTE TO STRESS
Sleep is a delightful remedy for a demanding day. Relaxing in the comfort of your bed and letting go of the cares of the world can give you a new perspective, and renew your spirit and your energy.
Sleep can be the escape you need from ongoing pressures and give you uninterrupted time to recover.
Making sleep a priority, including naps when needed, can help your mind and body recover from stress and deal with difficult situations more easily.
UTILIZE MEDITATION TO LESSEN STRESS AND FALL ASLEEP QUICKER
Meditation is an antique exercise that utilizes mindfulness to center thoughts, decrease stress, and assist to calm the mind. Meditation emphasizes concentration and self-awareness to rid the mind of stress.
Meditating before bed can help prepare your mind and body for sleep and control stressful thoughts.
If you’ve never experienced meditation before, it can feel daunting, strange, or even boring.
Starting a meditation practice may seem awkward at first, but soon you will feel the benefits and sing the praises of meditation.
Learning to meditate is like working a muscle. The more often you utilize it, the calmer it develops.
HERE ARE SOME MODEST PHASES TO MEDITATE AT TIME FOR BED AND DECREASE STRESS AND SLEEP WELL
Step 1: Commit to practice – Deciding to meditate is the first and most important step. Since meditation gets easier over time, it is important to commit to using it. It can seem odd at first but stay with it.
Step 2. Choose the type of meditation that’s right for you – There are three general types of meditation: mindfulness, concentration, and guided meditation.
Mindfulness meditation focuses on your breath and your body and is acutely aware of how you feel inside your body and how your body is functioning at the moment. The goal during mindful meditation is to replace all wandering thoughts with mindfulness of what your body is experiencing instead.
Concentrated meditation focuses on a word, thought, or phrase. This meditation can consist of concentrating on an object or repeating a mantra audibly or in your mind.
Guided meditation includes listening to an audio that guides you toward stress relief and sleeps. The instructor can focus on the physical aspects of your body or can share a story and walk you through the details.
Step 3. Extend the duration of meditation until you feel relief- At first, you may not be able to meditate for very long. It’s normal. Stress and thoughts wander to have a way of overriding intentions. Don’t judge yourself or worry about not doing it right. Over time, you can conquer your wandering mind and help it focus on your meditation practice and gain relief and peace as you fall asleep.
Meditation is a wonderful tool to utilize to decrease stress throughout the day. It is especially useful before bed if stress is trying to rob you of your sleep. Find a style of meditation that works for you and commit to trying it for a month and you will discover an incredible ability to regulate your thoughts and enjoy a restful sleep.
USE BEDTIME ROUTINES BECAUSE SLEEP IS AN ANTIDOTE TO STRESS
One of the main reasons people get stressed out at bedtime is that they don’t plan for a restful night’s sleep. Like most things, failure to plan is a plan that fails. It sounds simple enough, get into bed, turns off the lights, close your eyes and fall asleep.
If only it were that simple. The key to falling asleep is to prepare for sleep in advance.
Having a bedtime routine can help combat stress and prepare our minds and bodies for rest. The time before you go to sleep is as important as when your head hits the pillow. Here’s why:
The activities you do before bed affect your sleep
What you do before you go to bed can make or break your ability to fall asleep. Spending time in front of a screen, drinking caffeine, watching emotionally intense content, discussing sensitive topics, and other activities can prompt you to be more active when you should be relaxing.
Before bed, it’s best to do activities that promote and trigger your natural sleep pattern. Drink hot decaffeinated tea, take a hot bath or shower, and read. Listening to meditative content, wearing comfortable clothes, and getting ready for bed all promote restful sleep.
Your Circadian Rhythm Affects Your Sleep Cycle
Our bodies are designed with an internal sleep cycle. The circadian rhythm is a natural biological process in our body that helps us discern night from day.
We have an innate relaxation window where our body switches to drowsiness and prepares for bed.
Disrupting this cycle by staying up late or being over-stimulated can cause significant stress and make it much more difficult to fall asleep and wake up rested.
Sleep Training your body to go to sleep and wake up at specific times can help manage and overcome stressful bedtime thoughts because your body will be used to falling asleep on a schedule.
Once your body gets used to falling asleep and waking up at specific times, you probably won’t need an alarm clock or have trouble falling asleep… even when stressed.
Create a routine that works for you
Creating a bedtime routine that works for you will help you always get ready for bed and fall asleep with very little effort. Everyone is different, what one person needs to relax might look different than someone else’s.
Develop bedtime habits that help you calm down, relax, and unwind before bedtime and you’ll fall asleep easier and have more restful nights.
Top tips to help you stress less
Stress comes from all angles of life. From work problems to family dysfunction to general worries, they all add up and amount to significant reasons for stress. Here are some tips that will assist you to stress less.
Main Tip: Take Action – A lot of stress comes from the inability to act on important issues. Whether it’s procrastination, avoidance, or being downright lazy, not dealing with life’s problems can cause stress. Learn how to take action and mark things off your to-do list to reduce stress in your life.
Tip: Learn to let go – Disney hit a nerve with the hit song Let Go. Learning to let go of what you cannot tackle assists decrease stress. Letting go of the need to control and stop worrying about things you can’t control will greatly reduce stress.
Tip: Take it one day at a time – There’s so much you can do in a day. When you complete your day, receive what you have achieved and be pleased. Put your uncertainties and fears aside understanding that tomorrow will take care of itself. Learning to compartmentalize your day-to-day fears, anxieties, and worries can help you cope with each day that comes and rest each night when the day is over.
Top tips for better sleep
Doing what you can to reduce stress will help you go to bed ready to sleep. Here are some guidelines that may assist you to sleep better every night.
Tip: Create an Oasis in Your Bedroom – Your bedroom should feel like an escape from the world. Create an atmosphere where you cannot assist but feel refreshed and relaxed. Your bed should be comfortable, your bedding should be luxurious, and the temperature should be ambient. Create an environment where you are comfortable and relaxed and you will fall asleep and stay asleep with ease.
Tip: Use sound to help you sleep – Some people like sound when they sleep. White noise can help you get deeper sleep if you tend to be a light sleeper. Some apps can create ambient noises like the jungle, winter storms, or cafe sounds to help you drift off and fall asleep.
Getting a good night’s sleep is easier when you control stress and create an environment conducive to sleep. Fight the stress mentality before bed and make sure your bedroom is designed for optimal rest.
RESTLESS SLEEPER? STOP DOING THESE THREE THINGS!
Try as they may, some people have a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep. They roll over and stay restless all night.
Restlessness can be caused by many factors. Giving attention to what activates your agitation can assist.
You may keep a journal of your agitation and give close attention to designs that designate what keeps you up at night. In the meantime, until you’ve collected enough data, stop doing these three things and it might help you rest better.
- Stop eating and drinking after dinner time
- Stop smoking
- Stop sleeping on your back
What you eat could keep you awake at night – Eating food late at night can make the digestive system work overtime. Spicy foods can cause heartburn, and other foods can give you a boost of energy when you need to sleep.
Drinking caffeine can also disrupt the sleep cycle, making it harder to fall asleep and sleep. Drinking too much can also cause late-night trips to the bathroom, disrupting restful REM sleep.
Stop eating and drinking after your evening meal so that you can digest your food and prepare your body for the most important task at hand: going to bed.
Smoking can disturb your sleep – Smoking is toxic. Nicotine is intoxicating and may disrupt and supersede your daily rhythm. Instead of slowing you down for bed, smoking can speed you up.
Smoking also causes a wide range of medical problems, including emphysema, cancer, and respiratory disease. Smoking can lower blood oxygen levels, making it harder for the body to restore and repair itself at night, leaving you restless and tired all night and into the next day.
Sleeping on your back can make you restless – Sleep apnea can cause blockages that result in the inability to breathe during the night. Sleeping on your back might give the power of sleep apnea.
Obesity is a contributing factor to sleep apnea and can cause soft tissues to sag as the throat and tongue relax during the night. This occurs very often when we are lying on our backs.
Being constantly awoken from deep sleep due to sleep a pnea can lead to restlessness, and fatigue, and in some cases cause long-term health issues.
Being restless at night can contribute to daytime stress. Lack of quality sleep can manifest both physically and emotionally. If you find yourself eating and drinking after dinner time, try quitting and see if things improve.
Stop smoking and also try sleeping on your side or your stomach. Each of these may assist to enhance the worth of your sleep and decrease the level of stress you deal with daily.