Stress and Sleep on Mental Health
In our adult life we are expected to get an average of 8 hours of sleep each night to maintain our physical and psychological health along with the benefits of feeling well-rested and ready to function in our daily living. Unfortunately, getting an adequate amount of high-quality sleep seems to be difficult for many individuals due to stress.
While disturbances in our sleep may be caused by countless other reasons, examples being health or sleep disorders unique to the individual, stress is undoubtedly shared and experienced by everyone and can either directly or indirectly affect your amount and quality of sleep.
Increased levels of stress among individuals are also associated with higher chances of cardiovascular disease in more serious cases (Huang et al., 2012).
Although stress has the potential to play a positive role in our lives, as it is a great motivator to meet our goals and deadlines, it should not overwhelm us to the point of insomnia or poor physical and mental health!
Battle Stress and Improve Sleep
Maintaining a healthy sleep schedule and consistent exercise in your daily routine will also benefit your mental health as it improves our cognitive functions and you begin to feel much more confident within yourself.
An excellent way to reduce stress is to exercise! While the thought may seem intimidating many sports and activities accommodate individuals despite your physical attributes and athletic ability, so you can surely find something you enjoy incorporating into your daily routine.
Studies have suggested practicing Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, which is when individuals “receive training in formal meditation techniques such as body-scan meditation, sitting meditation, walking meditation, and Hatha toga with simple stretches and postures”, to reduce stress, but other activities, such as Pilates, Taiji Quan, and GYROKINESIS, also promote reduced stress and increased mindfulness within individuals (Caldwell et al., 2010).
Reduced stress levels promote higher sleep-quality and utilizing exercise as your way to blow some steam off also helps to maintain your mental and physical health which will prevent cardiovascular disease, obesity, and further associated health implications (Neves De Jesus, 2015).
Huang, Y., Hu, Y., & Mai, W. (2012). Stress and sleep disturbance-A connection in CVD. Nature Reviews Cardiology, 9(10), 598. doi:10.1038/nrcardio.2012.45-c1
Caldwell, K., Harrison, M., Adams, M., Quin, R. H., & Greeson, J. (2010). Developing mindfulness in college students through movement-based courses: Effects on self-regulatory self-efficacy, mood, stress, and sleep quality. Journal of American College Health, 58(5), 433-442. doi:10.1080/07448480903540481
Neves De Jesus, S., Nuno, J., & , V. (2015). Sleep quality and stress: A literature review