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br />Sleep and Stress Management
Stress can come in many different forms and can be brought on by many different forces.
Work, family, school, and relationships are among a few stressors people face everyday.
The body can react to these stressors with head or stomach aches, loss of appetite, and
little or no sleep. Although people may not realize it, managing good sleeping habits is a
key factor in controlling underlying stress problems. To a certain degree, some level of
stress is good to have in your everyday life. It keeps you alert and forces you to think on
your feet, providing a stimulant to maybe look at the situation from a different perspective.
Lack of sleep, overindulgence, and stress undermine the body immune system, leaving it
vulnerable to illness. Sleep is an important aspect of stress management and without it, we
as functioning adults will have trouble managing not only our work lives, but personal
lives as well.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, overscheduled daily calendars and
job stress/demands are the top two sources of stress for people ages 22-55 (Bradley). Aside
from a person natural reaction to stress of a pounding headache or upset stomach, stress
will often come in the form of troubled sleep. Often time, we will have trouble sleeping
because we are up all night worrying about our problems and the stressors that cause them.
For example, most of us have sat up in bed late at night thinking about that big meeting
tomorrow at work. "œAm I prepared for it? "œWhat if the boss calls on me? "œWhat if my
alarm clock doesnt go off? The problem is not in the actual worrying, but the effects that a
poor sleep has on one body in the following days. Research shows that sleep deprivation
hinders brain function, leaving you at a higher risk for accidents in the car and at home
(Sykes). At the very least, stress and lack of sleep make people irritable and cranky.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco all disrupt
sleeping patterns, making it difficult to drift off or stay there (Bradley).
Many people are not aware that they are not getting a proper sleep. Anytime you are
relaying on an alarm clock to wake you up, you are not getting enough sleep (Gordon).
Although this claim has been highly disputed, there are many doctors that stand by it. So
how do I know if Im getting enough sleep? If you struggle to get awake and get going in
