SLEEP STRESS AWAY
Stress may cause insomnia, but insomnia can increase stress
BY:MARY ELIZABETH TERZELLA
When we’re stressed or stretched too thin, sleep is the first thing to go. That’s unfortunate, since being short on rejuvenating shut-eye may actually cause more stress.
It’s no surprise that you feel tired and less alert after skimping on sleep for even a few nights. But regular sleep loss increases stress hormones such as cortisol and they remain elevated in people with chronic insomnia. “An increasing number of investigations suggest that memory, mood and a host of physiological functions are adversely affected by lack of sleep,” says Michael J. Sateia, MD, section chief of the sleep disorders service at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.
“Sure, stress can cause insomnia, but insomnia may also aggravate daytime stress and make it harder to cope with setbacks,” he says.
Having trouble sleeping? Changing bedtime behavior is more effective than sleeping pills for insomniacs, suggests a study in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Among the best strategies that researchers found: Use your bedroom only for sleep and sex. Get up at the same time every day, regardless of how well you slept. And if it takes you longer than 30 minutes to drift off, go to another room with low lighting and read or engage in another relaxing activity until you feel drowsy.
Not lying in bed when you can’t sleep is crucial to overcoming insomnia, says Dr. Sateia. “Otherwise, you begin to associate being in bed with wakefulness as well as anxiety and frustration about not sleeping. Over time, bed begins to evoke those responses. But getting up begins to break that association.”
For occasional wakefulness, a “lullaby” may be all it takes to summon the sandman, suggests a Case Western Reserve University study. Sleep-challenged subjects who listened to soft, soothing music for 45 minutes at bedtime felt more relaxed, as indicated by slower breathing and heart rates, and were able to fall asleep faster and sleep longer.