Stressed? Why It’s Harder for You to Get A Good Night’s Sleep

A recent NPR poll revealed that approximately 70% of those who reported a great deal of stress also reported significant trouble sleeping.

Doesn’t sound surprisingly when you think about it.

Unhealthy amounts of stress during the day easily creates a “fight or flight” reaction in our bodies. As a result, stress hormones including adrenaline and cortisol are pumped out, your heart rate increases, sugar releases into the blood and more blood is sent to your brain and muscles. Can you imagine trying to stay asleep through all that biological activity?

Martica Hall, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, states that  cortisol – which rushes to deal with stressful elements ­– remains elevated through the night. So even if you’ve managed to fall asleep quickly, the increased level of cortisol constantly pushes your brain to wake up and face real or perceived danger.

Thats right..even when you are sleep, this “stress hormone” wakes you up again!  Those who report feeling a lot of stress experience more instances of “wake ups” that can last many minutes longer than the average person.

Looking to having more satisfying sleep? Consider these tips:

• Go to bed and get up at the same time every day (including weekends!) This conditions your brain to release melatonin, which is crucial to getting the recommended amount of sleep

• Remove cellphones, computers and TVs from the bedroom! The screens on these devices emit short-wave light that suppresses melatonin.

• Try one of LifeWave’s most popular products Silent Nights. With no pharmaceutical drugs or pills to take, Silent Nights is clinically shownto increase length of sleep by 66%!! How cool is that? To learn more about Silent Nights Click HERE.