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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