We tend to think of stress as the cause of bad sleep. When we’re tightly wound (both mentally and physically) and unable to silence those spiralling thoughts about work, school, family, plans, things that have happened, things that probably aren’t going to happen, and things that would only happen in a cheap, 1980s sci-fi thriller, well…it’s pretty clear why tossing and turning late into the early morning hours is the end result.
But here’s the problem: the ‘vice versa’ holds true, too.
When we sleep badly – particularly when that poor sleep is a chronic thing, rather than something that happens to us once in a blue moon – we end up increasing the stress on our minds and bodies which, you guessed it, means we sleep even worse.
It’s one of those vicious cycles that is incredibly hard to break out of, but the hardest part is accepting that there’s a problem. When it’s 3am and you’re still operating at 50mph, the temptation is to simply ignore the problem and let those pointless thought patterns run on autopilot.
Why is bad sleep bad for stress?
There are a few reasons why – not least of all the fact that poor sleep diminishes our brain power, which means we’re a lot less equipped to deal with the demands of the next day, which in turn makes everything a lot harder. When things are harder, they’re bound to stress us out even more.
But the main reason is this: chronic poor sleep causes our body to produce far more cortisol than we should (ideally) have in our systems. You may know already that cortisol is known as the stress hormone. It’s something our body releases to wake us up in the morning, and when we are faced with an immediate threat like, say, a sudden deadline at work or a frisbee hurtling towards our heads.
Cortisol plays a vital role in our daily functioning, and it’s not a bad hormone, per se. What it is, however, is something we should only ever experience in moderation. Too much cortisol over too long a stretch of time keeps us in a constant state of alertness and stress, and has a negative effect on our general physical health, too.
The trouble is, we’re not designed to fall asleep at times when cortisol is high. You’ve heard of the fight or flight response, and ‘falling asleep’ isn’t one of the options there. So, when we’re always stressed and always brimming with cortisol, we’re bound to find it a lot harder to actually get our minds to switch off, our bodies to relax, and our Zs to start accumulating.
What to do about it
You’ve probably tried a few things already, since most of us know when we’re in a bad rut, and dropped them when they didn’t offer the results you were hoping for. However, the key is consistency, and combining multiple things together in order to tackle the problem head-on.
Gentle evening walks after dinner, putting your phone away at least an hour before bed (and not bringing it into the bedroom with you), meditation, reading, herbal teas, and dimmed lighting all help signal to the body that it’s time to relax and put that cortisol away. Some people buy HHC flower products from moonbarguy for their potential anti-stress benefits, although further research is needed to know exactly what effect they have on our minds and bodies.
A warm bath and a cool bedroom are also helpful, as is some gentle noise if you struggle to stop those racing thoughts.
Consistency and commitment are the best ways to ensure these techniques actually help you to get a good, restful sleep.