Sleepy? Stressed? Too Stressed To Sleep?
Why Stress Hurts Your Sleep; How To Break The Cycle
Jacqueline Tresl, R.N., gives tips on coping with stress
June 23, 2000, 10:59 a.m. EDT
"Very bright people need little sleep," Dr. Nathaniel Kleitzman told the Saturday Evening Post back in 1957.
Huh?
What's intelligence got to do with it? Sleep deprivation causes stress, whether you're brilliant or dull-witted.
Sleep is the body's natural way of recovering from the stressors of life. Adequate amounts of sleep increase the body's ability to handle stressful situations. Deprived of sleep, you can't bounce back from the everyday headaches and hassles of life. Fatigue and stress feed off of each other, creating a vicious circle. An inadequate amount of good-quality sleep is a major contributor to feeling emotionally out of control.
Why Stress Hurts Your Sleep
Maybe you remember the Stress Busters when we talked about one of the downsides of high-protein diets -- their effect on your serotonin level.
Serotonin is one of the body's neurotransmitters, one of its "happy messengers," and is a most essential biochemical in ensuring a good night's sleep.
Unfortunately, serotonin production dramatically decreases during times of stress. Just when you most need your rest, low serotonin levels make you prone to insomnia.
It's estimated that 80 million people have trouble sleeping, and 30 million suffer from chronic insomnia. Stress is a contributing factor.
Many people ignore stressful life situations by staying busy all day, to avoid dealing with their "issues."
That is, their minds try to ignore the issues. But their bodies won't. According to therapist Mary Edwards, insomnia is the body's way of saying, "OK, you won't deal with it during the day? Just see if you can get to sleep."
REM: The Rejuvenator
Deep sleep helps erase the detrimental physical and emotional effects of stress. During rapid eye movement (REM), the mind produces vivid narratives (dreams). Researchers believe that during an eight-hour sleep cycle, the mind experiences four complete REM cycles of almost two full hours apiece.
When you wake up, you may remember only 20 to 30 seconds of what you've dreamed. Most of what you dream is lost in a process of "decoupling" the dream from memory.
Theories differ about why REM is so therapeutic, but researchers agree that three to four REM cycles each night is optimal for good mental health.
Sleep: Going Insane -- Safely
Why does sleep help relieve stress? There are several ways to look at it.
- Sigmund Freud believed that REM was a safe way to work out our antisocial behaviors, like violence, aggression and inappropriate sexual impulses.
- Sleep researcher Dr. William Dement says "dreaming is your chance to go safely insane."
- Carl Jung viewed dreams as a way to work through our emotions.
- Therapist Mary Edwards describes nightmares as "psychological shock therapy" -- an apt analogy when you consider that actual electric shock therapy is used to treat severe depression.
Other experts believe that dreams are our data processing system, the way in which we integrate our life experiences into our personalities, transferring data from our short-term memory into our long-term memory, creating the tapestry of who we are.
No matter which theory you choose, REM cycles are invaluable in busting up stress.
What To Do
The solution is both easy to articulate -- get more sleep -- and difficult to make happen.
If we spread ourselves too thin, staying up late and getting up early, trying to meet a boatload of obligations, we grow edgy, stressed and eventually depressed.
We could get more sleep if we had less to do or if we could do it faster. For tips on time management, see these links.
Then again, even if you had the time to get to bed, maybe you have trouble falling asleep.
Do you lie in bed replaying your stressful day over and over again in your mind? Or maybe you have trouble relaxing.
Positive Steps
Adopt a regular sleeping routine. Pick a bedtime and stick to it. Leave your alarm set to the same time every morning. This means not staying up late on Fridays to sleep in late on Saturdays and Sundays -- OK, every once in a while.
Exercise regularly. Physical activity will help you sleep deeply and without interruptions. Don't exercise too close to bedtime. Allow your body plenty of time to relax and slow down.
Throw away the sleeping pills, which produce an artificial sleep at best. You'll be forever increasing the dosage, all the while building up a tolerance, until eventually the pills won't work at all, and you'll have more trouble than ever falling asleep.
Don't eat a heavy meal close to bedtime. Your body will be too busy digesting to relax and get sleepy. A light snack can sometimes be helpful in inducing relaxation and sleep. Try a handful of graham crackers and a cup of milk, or a granola bar and herbal tea.
Think positive. Stop worrying. Instead of staring at the ceiling and making an inventory of all your problems, shut your eyes and count your blessings. When you can't sleep, think about how much you have to be grateful for.
--Jacqueline Tresl, R.N., a coronary intensive care nurse and nursing supervisor for over 20 years, writes about health and happiness for newspapers and magazines. She recently published her first book, "Whoever Heard of a Horse In The House?"
First published May 31, 2000
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