Picture this: You’ve had a long, exhausting day. You get home and you’re finally ready to switch off the lights and climb into your cozy bed. But the second your head hits the pillow, your mind fills with racing thoughts and anxious feelings start to take over. Sound familiar?
If stress is stealing sleep from you, you’re not alone. Around 36.3% of Canadians who experience chronic stress also reported that they get insufficient sleep. Keep reading to learn more about the link between stress and sleep and how you can get out of this vicious loop.
How are stress and sleep connected?
Stress triggers a part of the nervous system called the autonomic nervous system (ANS), responsible for controlling our heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, and more. The ANS is regulated by hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, which are released from the adrenal glands, located on top of the kidneys.
An increase in adrenaline and cortisol causes your heart rate to increase, keeping you awake and alert. This leads to those racing thoughts that you may be familiar with, which prevent your body from getting the rest it needs. As a result, high stress levels prolong the amount of time it takes to fall asleep and even make it hard to get continuous rest throughout the entire night.
The importance of getting a good night’s rest
High stress can get in the way of your body being able to do the things it usually does during sleep. This includes processing memories, working on muscle repair, fighting harmful pathogens, and more. Beyond that, a loss of good quality sleep only further triggers the body’s stress response, causing an overproduction of cortisol. Ultimately, this leaves us with increased stress and poor sleeping patterns, a negative loop that no one enjoys.
Natural ways to reduce stress and support sleep
With sleep playing such a vital role in our overall well-being, it’s important to prioritize managing your stress and getting the rest your body needs. And remember that everyone is different – try out these methods to better understand what works for you.
Take a warm shower or bath
Sometimes, a warm shower is all that’s needed before deep sleep takes us in. This is because a warm shower or bath helps lower your body’s temperature, ultimately helping you doze off into a relaxing slumber.
Empty your thoughts onto a page
Whether you choose to take the old-fashioned approach and write it out with a pen and paper or type it onto your phone or laptop, taking time to brain dump can help ease your mind before bed. Try not to filter your thoughts and write down everything that’s taking up space in your mind. This practice can help reduce those anxious, racing thoughts and bring your mind to a relaxing state.
Create a healthy sleep environment
Creating a sleep-inducing bedroom can help you feel more inclined to shut your eyes and get some good quality rest. Here are a few things you can try out:
- Keep lighting to a minimum
- Limit any noise
- Set your room temperature to around 18.3 degrees Celsius (play around with this number to see what feels right for you)
Reach for calming adaptogenic herbs and sleep-supporting minerals
In addition to external factors, there are a few things we can do internally to help us get into a state of relaxation. Herbs like ashwagandha, lemon balm, and valerian can be great additions to your nightly routine. CanPrev’s Sleep Restore is formulated with these calming herbs in addition to GABA and L-theanine to help relieve tension, soothe stress, and ease into a better bedtime.
Magnesium is involved in over 800 enzymatic reactions within the body. One of its main roles is to support nervous system health. If you’re looking to increase your intake of this mineral, try CanPrev’s Magnesium Stress Release. This formula is designed to help restore mental calmness and encourage quality sleep. It’s formulated with ashwagandha, an adaptogen that’s long been used to heal stress, as well as key vitamins B5, B6, and C for quelling stress hormone production.
The constant loop of being too stressed to sleep and too tired to handle stress can feel exhausting. But learning about the link between stress and sleep and a few methods to relieve mental pressure while supporting sleep can help you get one step closer to breaking out of this cycle. Here’s to stressing less and sleeping more!
Sources:
Are Canadian adults getting enough sleep?
How stress can affect your sleep
How to tell if stress is affecting your sleep