Insomnia and Stress

Is Stress A Catalyst For Sleep Problems?

Insomnia and stress, has this become a normal pattern in your life? Is it effecting your regular routine, how you function, and not to mention your mood? It is more common then you might think.

Is this a usual night for you?... It is 10pm- I have to get to bed I have work tomorrow. Work oh no, I forgot to give my boss that report. I have to run those errands tomorrow that I forgot to do today. 12 pm- My parents called today they are coming out in a month. 3am- The kids have to be picked up early, I have to get the tires rotated, the house is a mess, bills aren't paid, I have appointments all day tomorrow, where are my priorities? I am so confused I wish my mind would just slow down. I can't sleep. Why can't I sleep?!

After a long week do you feel that way or know someone who does? Insomnia can be caused by stressful events in our life. Insomnia has a list of ways it can make you feel. It can impair your ability to function including interaction with family and friends, effects your job performance, your daily routine, takes the joy out of life, gives you undue anxiety, causes the inability to handle new stresses, making you overly emotional, or making you slower mentally effecting your cognitive skills. Some people describe being in this state as living and barley functioning on auto pilot, not really there just a shell of a person. These are all classic characteristic thoughts and feelings of insomnia and stress.

In the year 2007 the United States Department of Health and Human Services did a study, the results yielded that approximately 64 million Americans regularly suffer from insomnia each year. And insomnia is 1.4 more times common in women then it is in men. Now as was mentioned that study was done in 2007, what about now in 2010.

The economy has been in turmoil, people are loosing their homes, budgets are tighter, not to mention that every type of situation we encounter causes us stress. This stress can have a very dramatic effect on our sleep habits. But we are going to show you how to get control of this monster that is referred to as INSOMNIA.

Types Of Insomnia

Normally, the effects insomnia and stress have on sleep behaviors are characterized by either the inability to fall asleep, or the inability to stay asleep once awakened. Stress is a known disrupting factor of your sleep pattern. While studies are still being done there is an explanation why your body cannot fall asleep.

Science Of Sleep

A pea shaped gland in your brain called the pineal gland regulate melatonin and serotonin two important hormones. As daylight goes away the level of melatonin rises allowing you to fall to sleep. Levels of serotonin rise and fall with the light of day, nutritional chemistry in your body, the types of pharmaceutical drugs you take, and your stress level. The level of serotonin has an effect on the level of melatonin as well. When neurochemicals are released( including adrenaline) during stress these hormones(melatonin,serotonin) become imbalanced. Effecting the quality of sleep.This reaction causes insomnia and stress in your life pattern.

Many people take prescription drugs. While this may be effective with doctor supervision it often leads to other issues. Some leave you feeling groggy in the morning,and have harmful side effects,and even threats of addiction. In many cases the drug will lose its effectiveness after long term use, causing the individual to switch to a different drug. There are effective natural alternatives to these drugs.

Anxiety of having insomnia can cause someone not to fall asleep as well. Fear of tossing and turning, fear of being left with one's own thoughts. There is a bed time behavior you can develop to aid you in falling asleep so you would not suffer from sleeplessness or the anxiety that accompanies it. This would be an effective way of dealing with insomnia and stress.

Sleep Techniques

Don't nap after 3pm in the afternoon, and limit yourself to only a 20 to 30 minute nap during the day. Do not drink alcohol before bed. Do not use nicotine or street drugs. Exercise 4 to 5 hours before bed. Set a regular bed time for yourself. Whether you are tired or not you are winding down in your restful environment at a regular time your body will catch on. Give it time.

Natural supplements can be taken before bed that can aid you in falling to sleep, and even staying asleep. Melatonin is a very effective hormone with some types of insomnia.

This is a natural supplement, and has been compared to the effectiveness of the sleeping tablet zopiclone. Melatonin helps with inducing sleep, and regulating the sleep/wake cycle. As many of us know prescription, sleep medication has many side effects even addiction. this is very dangerous, and yet melatonin is a natural sleep aid. Here at stress effects health we tested the effectiveness so we could rate this supplement for you.

We found pros and cons. The pros are... in inducing sleep on a scale of 1- 10 our team gave it a 7. In regulating the sleep wake cycle we gave it a 8. In the effectiveness of functioning in the morning, and level of grogginess we gave it a 9. The con to it is... in our studies it took 3 days to a week to start really seeing these positive results. So in that we gave it a 3. Overall we were very impressed with this supplement.

Valerian Root is a medicinal herb that is often used to treat insomnia and stress.

This herb is a known alternative to the all to common benzodiazepine drugs. We rated this herb on a 1- 10 scale as well. In inducing sleep we gave it a 7. In regulating the sleep/wake cycle we gave it a 5. in functioning the next morning, and level of grogginess we gave it a 7. It took 2 days to really see the full effects of this herb in our studies. so we gave it a 5. half of our case studies preferred it to melatonin. The choice is yours.

It is used all over the world including Hawaii, Fiji, Samoa. Kava kava is known for its natural sedative effect. once again we rated this on a 1-10 scale. In inducing sleep we gave it a 7. In regulating the sleep/wake cycle we gave it a 5. In AM functioning and grogginess we gave it a 4. This herb took full effect after 2 days.Many of our case studies reported that they preferred it to melatonin and found it more effective for insomnia and stress. Yet again the choice is yours.

Above all remember to consult your physician on any changes done to your diet.

These are a natural and healthy approaches to insomnia, without the addiction, and side effects. For information on natural supplements to help with insomnia, or you would like to share with us your experiences with something you have tried contact us.

One of the most important techniques is to get your mind free and clear of anxieties if you would like to be rid of insomnia and stress. Journal these thoughts down, share them with your spouse before bed.

Relax all your muscles starting from your jaw to your toes. With each muscle tense it up then let it relax. These are simple techniques. But the key is to calm yourself down. Sleep is a very important part of your health and wellness. By being proactive and regulating your sleep you are getting control of your life.

Insomnia and stress can be controlled if you put some of these basic management and prevention techniques into practice for your insomnia and stress.

To understand some more symptoms of stress or to get back to home page insomnia and stress