Your child brings home a report card filled with
low marks. Your dog just bit your
neighbor, and the sink in the kitchen no longer works. You feel you’re under major stress. As a result, you find yourself tossing and
turning at night, unable to get a good night’s sleep. This is truly unfortunate, because sleep can
re-charge a person’s batteries, enabling him or her to better tackle the
stressors that come along the road.
Stress-induced insomnia can take a
variety of forms. For instance, you may
have difficulty falling asleep in the first place. Or you may wake up hours earlier than you
should. You may find yourself waking up
several times during the middle of the night.
Or you may even find that you feel tired when you wake up in the morning
because you didn’t get good quality sleep.
One important point to remember is
that you are not alone. Just about
everyone suffers from lack of sleep at some point in life. That said, dealing with insomnia can be
exhausting. You might feel run down
during the day and have difficulty concentrating. You may turn to coffee in order to keep awake
during the daylight hours, which can lead to a feeling of restlessness. You may even try taking a nap in the
mid-morning or late afternoon, only to find that you have difficulty sleeping
again at night.
While old age, depression, and
substance abuse can all lead to insomnia, it might be said that the number one
cause is stress. If your insomnia
persists for a week, you should contact your doctor. He or she may prescribe medication to enable
you to get to sleep more quickly. But
you should be aware that there are other techniques you can use to deal with
stress-related insomnia.
To begin with, try to determine the
root cause of your stress. This might be
your job, your home life, or even some of your recreational activities. Next, determine whether you are
overscheduled. By eliminating some of
your commitments, you might be able to seriously reduce your stress level. Then, do some problem-solving. How can you make a stressful situation
better? It could involve engaging in
positive thinking, changing your attitude about the situation, or coming up with
solutions to resolve the situation.
There are also some concrete steps
you can take to improve your sleep. For
instance, make sure that your bedroom is conducive to sleep. This means finding the most comfortable
bedding available, decorating your room with soft, subtle colors, and
eliminating clutter or other signs of work in progress.
In addition, condition yourself to associate your bed with
sleep. This means resisting the
temptation to do work in bed, or study for your classes while lying down. You should even try to avoid watching TV
programs in bed. The idea here is to
eliminate stimulants from your sleeping area which could prevent you from
falling asleep. If you like to read in
bed, make sure that you read only fun, pleasurable books, not significant tomes
that could keep you up at night.
One other helpful tip is to set up
a regular routine prior to going to bed.
It may involve taking a bath or shower to relax you or drinking some
milk right before settling down to sleep.
Also, try to get up at the same time every morning so that you are
following an established schedule. In
addition, make sure that you do not engage in drinking beverages with caffeine
or alcoholic drinks after dinner.
Insomnia is one of the most
dangerous side-effects of stress. It can
rob you of your energy, strength, and endurance. It can make the simplest tasks difficult to
handle during the course of the day. And
it can even lead to major depression. If
you find yourself having trouble getting to sleep at night, take immediate
action. Don’t wait for your body to feel
the stress of night after night of sleeplessness. The more proactive you are, the greater the
likelihood that you’ll be able to combat insomnia, as well as the stress that
goes with it. Refreshed and renewed,
you’ll be able to take on the challenges that come your way, once you’ve gotten
enough sleep.
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