You probably know that being stressed can affect your sweet sleep, but maybe you don’t know exactly why or how. This is because stress can begin to cause both physical and mental arousal that will make falling asleep a very difficult option.
So if you feel stressed and agitated after a tough day you may find that sleep is especially elusive. This could lead you to having troubled sleep, difficulty falling asleep or getting back to sleep if woken in the night. This can be especially damaging to sleep stages 3 and 4, which are the restorative stages. The worst part about this is that the day after your poor sleep you may feel even more susceptible to stress and poor sleep that follows.
So how can you tell if you are too stressed to sleep well at night? You can check with your mind and body for some important clues.
You can’t shut off your mind
Instead of being able to observe and contemplate your worries or concerns and gain some needed perspective, it seems that your thoughts are running wild and on an endless loop. This mental chatter keeps you awake and interferes with your peaceful rest.
Your muscles are seriously tense
If you are also experiencing muscle tension and strain, or any of the stress-related aches and pains like tight shoulders, headaches and neck pain, getting to sleep can be virtually impossible. To make matters worse, getting poor sleep can prepare for more such discomfort later in your day and even make you more susceptible to pain in the future. Moreover, if your mattress isn’t supportive, your aches, pains and trouble sleeping will get worse. Take a look at Tuft and Needle mattress reviews and consider an upgrade. They provide some very well rated mattresses that people deem to be of very high quality and of an excellent standard.
Your heart is racing
If your heart is all fired up and racing, this is a common symptom of the stress condition and is related to an elevated amount of cortisol in the blood. Greater physical tension and autonomic arousal can keep the mind and body awake and are not conducive to restful and restorative sleep.
The good news is that there are ways to counter the effects of stress and prepare for better sleep before even climbing into bed. You may also think of establishing a pre-sleep routine which may include a cup of tea, warm bath and other relaxation exercises that help relieve stress.
Stress is a terrible thing that can cause all sorts of problems for people when they are awake and also when they are asleep. All of these signs are often ones that showcase a deeper and larger issue and as such you may need to find treatment from other sources for such issues.
A good night’s rest can cure a wide variety of ailments and really help you feel a lot better the next day – hopefully this article will shed some light on issues.
