Stress Awareness Month, held during the month of April aims to raise awareness about the causes and help provide solutions for stress in our lives. While various aspects of life can contribute to stress, this blog is going to concentrate on the role of sleep in helping individuals manage increased stress.

Daily stress factors such as financial commitments, work and relationships, as well as job loss, relocation or illness, can impact our overall wellbeing. What’s more, stress can disrupt sleep patterns, further adding to our levels of stress.

Are you having trouble sleeping?

If stress is causing you to lose sleep, it may stop you from entering a restorative deep sleep during the night. Anxiety can also disrupt your sleep patterns, causing you to wake up frequently throughout the night. Stress can lead to a reduced overall sleep duration and lower sleep efficiency. Physiological changes, such as increased cortisol levels, can be seen in the sleep-stress relationship, resulting in heightened alertness, increased heart rate, and higher blood pressure.

Your cortisol levels naturally decrease in the evenings as part of your body’s sleep preparation. However, high cortisol levels at night can disrupt the production and release of melatonin, an important hormone for regulating sleep-wake cycles. Additionally, inadequate sleep can further impact cortisol levels, causing them to rise during times when they should be low.

Stress can affect your sleep patterns by reducing the time spent in light and deep sleep and increasing time in REM sleep. REM sleep is essential for restoring mental function and processing emotions and memories. These disruptions to your sleep affect the usual brain wave patterns during REM and other stages of sleep. Stress can alter brain waves associated with concentration, creativity, and dreaming. Additionally, excessive time in REM sleep can lead to daytime sleepiness and fatigue, further affecting sleep cycles and mood.

Can stress be reduced by more sleep?

Sleep is a highly effective way to reduce stress. Maintaining a consistent sleep schedule can help relax and rejuvenate the body, enhance focus, stabilise mood, and improve cognitive abilities. By getting enough rest, you become more able to solve problems and deal with stress. On the other hand, insufficient sleep can deplete your energy levels and impair mental clarity.

Lack of sleep can significantly affect your ability to concentrate. Research has shown that too little sleep can make you more emotionally reactive, impulsive, and over sensitive in negative situations. These can then lead to various stress-related issues such as difficulties with relationships and problems with job performance.

How to manage stress

Managing stress is so important for a good night’s sleep. Making relaxation a priority before going to bed can help reduce or even get rid of the stress of the day. So things like taking a warm shower, getting a massage, or doing light stretching can be helpful.

Certain scents and teas have been known to aid relaxation. Discover essential oils, balms, pillows, and teas that have been tested and evaluated by sleep experts. Embracing some of these calming activities can help release tension and help you get a better night’s sleep. If you experience stress and anxiety at night, incorporating the following bedtime routines may help.

1. When it comes to managing your worries and concerns before going to bed, it’s important to make a deliberate decision. Set aside a time during the day to address the stress you’re facing, so that when bedtime comes, you can have a worry-free mindset. If you find yourself still carrying stress to bed, it can be helpful to keep a notepad near by where you can jot down your thoughts and concerns mentally setting them aside before sleep.
2. Keep your office, home, and car organised to reduce stress. Clutter can cause anxiety when you’re unable to find important items like documents or car keys.
3. Meditation can reduce stress and enhance sleep. Consider learning how to meditate.
4. Practicing gratitude daily can help reduce stress. Take a few moments before going to bed to express gratitude for the positive experiences and things that made you feel good throughout the day.
5. Practice mind exercises, such as puzzles, to break the cycle of anxious thoughts and improve sleep.
6. Include breathing exercises in your routine to help you relax. Begin by breathing in deeply for a count of four, holding your breath for the same count, and breathing out slowly over a count of eight.

It’s important to remember that stress is a natural part of all our lives, and in small doses, it can be beneficial. The hormone cortisol, released during periods of stress, helps in identifying potential dangers and reacts accordingly. By being able to recognise the stress factors that may be affecting your sleep and putting in place successful coping strategies, you can keep a healthier life balance.

Adding healthy sleep habits into your daily routine can help you to manage stress more effectively. With mindfulness and consistency, you can interrupt the negative cycle between sleep and stress, helping you to get improved wellbeing and a better quality of sleep.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio.

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The clocks spring forward this weekend, marking the start of British Summertime. While this brings many positives like better weather and longer daylight hours, there’s also a downside – we lose an hour of precious sleep. Some may wonder if one hour really makes a difference, but it does. It can be surprisingly challenging, and waking up on Monday morning might be even harder than usual.

With Summertime daylight saving, when we move our clocks forward, it disrupts our circadian rhythm, throwing our internal body clocks out of sync with our normal day/night cycle. How well we adapt to this change depends on various factors. Here are some frequently asked questions about adjusting to the clocks going forward:

How long does it take to adjust to losing an hour’s sleep?

Typically, within a day, most people should feel fine as our bodies are generally good at adjusting to one-hour changes. However, some may feel an impact, especially if they already don’t get enough sleep.

If I sleep less, will I feel worse the following morning?

If you have a healthy sleep pattern and go to bed slightly earlier the night before the clock change, you’ll likely still wake up feeling refreshed. However, if you’re already not getting enough sleep, you might experience irritability, moodiness, lack of concentration, fatigue, and daytime sleepiness.

What can I do to prepare for the clock change or reset my body clock?

Gradually move your bedtime earlier by about 10 minutes each day leading up to the clocks going forward. This will make the hour loss on Sunday feel less severe. Additionally, expose yourself to natural or artificial light the following morning to help suppress melatonin levels and reduce sleepiness. Instead of napping, go outside in the afternoon to get fresh air as it helps reset your biological clock.

To enhance your chances of falling asleep and staying asleep, practice good sleep hygiene.

1. Limit alcohol and caffeine intake
2. Engage in exercise (but avoid doing it too close to bedtime),
3. Disconnect from gadgets at least an hour before bed and establish a calming wind-down routine.
4. Create an ideal sleeping environment, ensuring that it’s cool, quiet, dark, and free of clutter.
5. Don’t forget the importance of a comfortable mattress, a supportive pillow, and appropriate bedding.

At BodyMould our memory foam mattresses and toppers can make a big difference to how well you sleep at night. Our high-density memory foam moulds to your body as you sleep, cradling you in every position and providing personalised comfort and support. We offer memory foam mattress and topper options to suit everybody, so come and browse our range to find the best size and style for you.

If you need advice or help our team of mattress experts can help you transform your sleep with the perfect memory foam mattress or topper by guiding you to the right mattress or topper especially for you. We make everything ourselves so there’s nothing we don’t know about sleeping comfort, pressure relief and the right support so do get in touch. Contact us online or call us on 01293 871744 and our friendly team will be happy to help.

Photo by Mpho Mojapelo on Unsplash

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