Is stress severely
affecting your sleep?
People
do not talk about it enough, but getting a good night’s rest is vital to your
health. Matthew Bogard, M.D. has published advice for those who are severely
affected
Sleep serves
important functions for your health. If you don’t sleep well, it does not only
affect your performance the next day, it may have adverse long-term
implications. The newest informational article by Matthew Bogard, MD is available on his blog at https://matthewbogardmd.blogspot.com/
Have you been suffering from sleep deprivation?
If a person is under a lot of stress, it is normal for that to impact both the
duration and quality of sleep. This can impact the mental and physical health
of a person. A proper night’s sleep of about 7 to 9 hours is recommended for
every person, depending on age and other factors.
Today, about 40% of the adults in the US sleep
less than 7 hours a night, as per the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC). And because of this, these people begin to suffer from lack
of sleep which eventually results in both mental and physical health issues.
Effects
of Sleep deprivation
If a person is not getting enough sleep at
night, this can negatively affect a person's mood, lower your energy, and
create difficulty in concentrating. Lack of sleep also causes a general
inability to function normally as a human should. And that is not all; sleep
deprivation can have very severe consequences in a few situations. For example,
if a person is operating heavy machinery or driving and falls asleep due to extreme
fatigue, it can be deadly.
Getting just one night of poor sleep doesn't
cause a lot of harm, but if it persists over time it increases the risk of many
chronic health conditions. Those who keep sleep less than 7 hours every night
are in danger of suffering from the following conditions:
·
kidney
disease
·
arthritis
·
depression
·
stroke
·
diabetes
·
heart
disease
·
obesity
While there are many factors that cause any of
these conditions, lack of sleep can independently contribute to their
development.
The link
between Sleep and Stress
There are a lot of negative connotations of
stress, but it's known to be a response developed by animals and humans which
permits them to easily deal with dangerous or crucial situations. When a human is
stressed, the central nervous system releases hormones like cortisol and
adrenaline. Due to these hormones, the heart rate is increased so that it can
circulate blood much more efficiently to the muscles and the vital organs. In
short, it helps the body to take a quick action when necessary.
This reaction that the CNS provides is called
the fight-or-flight response. During the initial stages of evolution, this
response was very important for human survival. Today, there are issues that do
not need such a response, but the body still triggers the fight-or-flight
response for issues that are not a threat to the person - such issues as
relationship difficulties or problems at work.
Effects
of Stress on the Body in the Long-Term
Occasionally, having a stressful feeling is
normal, but the constant feeling stress is dangerous to the human body. This is
because it can cause the CNS to sustain a heightened state of arousal which can
last for extended periods. And if a person stays in such a state for a longer
time, it can influence the mental and physical health in the long term. One of
the effects of the stress is sleep deprivation.
This prolonged stress response makes sleep
difficult. It can also cause anxious and unsettling thoughts to enter a person's
mind at night. And this eventually leads to more insufficient sleep that then
causes further stress.
How to
reduce stress to improve sleep?
If you are a person suffering from stress or
sleepless nights, it is important to reduce the stress. This will improve the
sleep that you get at night. But for this, you would need to change some things
in your lifestyle.
#1 Meditation
This is something that nearly everyone knows
about, and is the best technique to reduce stress. This is a relaxation routine
that helps you to become more aware of your present moment. Its objective is to
help the person recognize all the sensations, feelings, and thoughts that are
taking place outside and inside the body without reacting to them. If a person takes
the time to practice meditation for about 10 to 30 minutes before going to bed
every day it will help them have a much better sleep and also reduce the stress
levels.
#2
Exercise
Exercising is excellent treatment for many
diseases; it is also great for stress and can help you get a much better sleep
at night. It does wonders in improving the well-being, physical health and
mental health of a person.
Other
lifestyle changes
Changing the below things in your lifestyle can
also help to reduce the stress and improve the sleep:
·
Receiving
support from family and friends.
·
Avoid
taking any work home or checking work emails at home.
·
Reducing
alcohol and caffeine intake.
·
Adjusting
to a healthy diet.
Even
though reducing stress can be highly challenging, it is not impossible and does
wonders for a person's health.
The complete article is available on the blog of
Dr. Matthew Bogard at https://matthewbogardmd.blogspot.com/
Matthew Bogard, MD
Dr.
Matt Bogard practices Emergency Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska. During his time at
Nebraska College of Medicine, he was selected to join the Advanced Rural
Training Program, a four-year residency program that trains physicians to
provide comprehensive full-spectrum medical care. During his residency, Dr.
Bogard served on the Board of Directors of the Nebraska Academy of Family
Physicians, was active with the Nebraska Medical Association, mentored multiple
medical students and was honored by the Nebraska Legislature as “Family
Physician of the Day.” Matthew Bogard primarily practices Emergency Medicine.
Website:
https://matthewbogardmd.com/
LinkedIn
Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewbogard/
Dr. Matthew Bogard, Iowa doctor, is an emergency medicine doctor primarily at the Lucas County Health Center in Chariton, Iowa. Presently, he is Board Certified in Family Medicine by the National Board of Physicians and Surgeons and the American Academy of Family Physicians.
