Stress and sleep both have a history of negative health side effects, and they can influence one another as well— stress can lead to poor sleep, and poor sleep can lead to increased stress. If you’ve endured numerous life adjustments recently, you’re not alone. Many individuals have experienced lay-offs, furloughs, or had to support unemployed loved ones due to the Coronavirus pandemic. 2020 was one heck of a year— and you may be feeling stressed as a result.
Even those who have scraped by relatively unscathed aren’t necessarily in the clear; people who have kept a stable paycheck could still experience ripple effects. For example, accountants and tax preparers have been navigating a tax season with increased levels of nuance due to how recent times have affected the larger population and business alike.
If you’re feeling the pressure, read on to learn how to better navigate this extra stress and get some rest.
The Connection Between Stress and Sleep
We all have the occasional night of poor sleep, but a continuous lack of rest can affect our health in profound ways. Stress can influence your sleep, which can then affect multiple other aspects of your life. If you’re encountering poor moods, faulty motor skills, low energy, or difficulty concentrating, stress may be the culprit.
The CDC reports that over 35% of adults in the US are getting under 7 hours of sleep daily; this can lead to a lasting sleep deficit, along with mental health issues and physical health problems. Constant sleep deprivation could trigger serious issues like:
- Obesity
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Arthritis
- Stroke
- Diabetes
- Heart Disease
Working at a high-pressure job or encountering bouts of stress at certain times of the year due to your profession isn’t abnormal. According to The American Institute of Stress, 40% of Americans feel like their job is “extremely stressful,” and research has shown that we would be healthier and happier if we could grab an extra 60 to 90 minutes of sleep per night.
How to Improve Sleep During Stressful Periods
Keeping stress at bay while you’re struggling through tricky times is no easy feat, but you can take small steps to manage overt pressure. Keeping your mind and body in good shape is not only good for your mind, body, and soul, it’s good for others around you as well. Making sure you manage stress to assure proper sleep is imperative to our moods, our health, and productivity.
Whether you’re raising children, flying solo, or cohabiting with a partner, good sleep also improves our relationships with others, including our coworkers, family, and friends. These connections are not just nice-to-haves; our relationships are imperative to living a happy life.
Helpful Tips
Put the Phone Down. Blue light can be enormously disruptive to your circadian rhythm, so watching TV, working on your computer, or scrolling through Instagram, even up to a few hours before bed, could keep you up and mess with your sleep. If you’re hoping to get some serious shuteye, switch off your electronics a few hours before lights out.
Dial Down the Caffeine. Caffeine is well known for impairing the quality of rest. According to research, even consuming coffee six whole hours before bed can significantly reduce the restfulness of your zzzs. So next time you reach for that cup of joe, make sure it’s before noon— or better yet, skip it altogether.
Get Outside. Increasing your amount of daylight exposure is known to help regulate your circadian rhythm, whereas staying inside all day (or in an office), could make it worse. Humans are naturally wired to get outside, move around, and soak up the sunshine, and enjoying some rays has been shown to help extend your sleep duration and quality.
Stay Consistent. One of the most important tricks to help with getting better sleep is to keep a regular schedule. Studies have shown that irregular patterns in our sleep can lead to poor melatonin levels, the hormone that helps us drift off. Our bodies like to know what to expect, and the more consistent we can be, the better we can sleep.