Sleepless Nights? Try Stress Relief Techniques
In a recent national survey, 44 percent of adults said stress had causedsleepless nights at least once in the previous month. All that tossing,turning and staring at the ceiling can leave you feeling tired andmore stressed the next day. If you’re caught in this vicious cycle ofanxiety and insomnia, there’s good news: Simple stress relief techniquescan help you sleep better and feel calmer.
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Understanding Anxiety and Insomnia
What’s behind the more stress, less sleep connection? “If you’re frequently triggering your stress response, your body never gets back to its baseline,” says Johns Hopkins sleep expert Luis F. Buenaver, Ph.D., C.B.S.M.
“Stress and sleepless nights are closely linked,” Buenaver says. “If you’re in pain, tend to worry, or are coping with a difficult situation in your life, you may have more stress hormones than usual circulating in your body. A poor night’s sleep adds even more. And those hormones may never be fully broken down. It’s like running an engine in fifth gear all the time.”
Try It
Activate Your Body’s Relaxation Response
“We recommend planned relaxation activities to reduce stress. Watching aballgame or movie on TV just isn’t the same as taking the time to fullyrelax,” says Johns Hopkins sleep expertLuis F. Buenaver, Ph.D., C.B.S.M.Try this plan:
1. Practice gentle breathing and progressive muscle relaxation every day(20 to 25 minutes) for two weeks. On a scale of 0 (“totally relaxed”) to 10(“completely tense”), rate your level of emotional and physical stressbefore and after.
2. After two weeks, choose the exercise that works best for your anxietyand insomnia and keep it up every day. “With practice, your body and mindwill learn to relax more quickly and deeply for fewer sleepless nights,”Buenaver says.
Stress Relief Techniques to the Rescue
“Activities that switch on the body’s natural relaxation response feel great,” Buenaver says. “And they have been proven by research to improve sleep. They help by reducing the release of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline and by slowing your heart rate and breathing. Your body and mind calm down.”
Yoga, tai chi and meditation are helpful stress relief techniques. So are these two simple exercises that Buenaver recommends to patients who are struggling with sleepless nights.
Gentle breathing:
- In a quiet place, sit or lie down in a comfortable position. It may help to close your eyes.
- Breathe slowly in and out for about five minutes. As you inhale, breathe down into your belly. Focus on your breath.
- If you’d like, repeat to yourself, “Breathing in I am calm, breathing out I am coping.”
Progressive muscle relaxation:
- In a quiet place, sit or lie down in a comfortable position.
- Take a few gentle breaths, in and out.
- Begin tensing groups of muscles one at a time as you breathe. Hold the tension as you inhale, then release it as you exhale. Take a few breaths as you notice (and enjoy) how relaxed each muscle group feels.
- Start with the muscles in your head, neck and face. Move down to your shoulders, hands and arms, back, stomach, buttocks, thighs, calves and feet.
- Repeat for any areas that are still tense.
“As you go through this exercise, feel the presence and absence of tension so you can spot lingering tension and do something about it,” Buenaver says.
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Our hectic schedules and a number of responsibilities have greatly contributed to this condition and it is important to know the ways that could alleviate stressful conditions. Where meditation could decrease the level of stress, indulging in physical activities is another way to get rid of it. So, here are a few ways that should be followed for a stress-free life…
Follow a routine
Always make a point to follow a regime. A routine provides a structured and organised way of living. When our daily routine is well structured, we can utilize our day in a better way. You will also realize that you are able to complete all your work on time and still can indulge in some entertainment activities, hobbies and sports. And you will automatically feel stress-free!
Wake up early
Wake up early in the morning. As the saying goes, “early to bed and early to rise, makes a man, healthy wealthy and wise”. So, follow a daily routine and set a time to sleep at night and when to wake up. Waking up early is not just healthy for your body but is also beneficial in improving mental health.
Make a list for yourself
Make a list of things that make you happy and optimistic. This technique will help to ease your stress in a positive manner. Also, make a list of work that you need to do or could accomplish in a day. The best suggestion would be to make a to-do list wherein you list all the activities, assignments or any other tasks that you need to complete. This is a good way of staying focused and organized and also completing all the tasks without thinking too much about them.
Accept and face your challenges
If you find yourself in a bad situation or if some of your decisions have landed you in trouble, accept and find a solution for it instead of cribbing. When you accept your challenges, it has a positive impact on your mind and consciousness. This makes you stronger to face tougher situations in future as well.
Look after yourself
Never forget to take good care of you. When we are in a stressful situation, we end up getting tensed and worried without giving a thought about ourselves. We ignore our own selves either by eating unhealthy meals or by not giving our body and mind enough rest. This ignorance can more harm us greatly and could weaken our power to deal with stress.
Relax
Relax your mind and body. When felling stresses, take a nap or breathe deep. Being continuously involved in work can be stressful. So, remember to take a break and connect with ‘yourself’. In this way, you will stay calm and make yourself feel better.
Meditate
Meditation is an excellent method of cleansing your mind from all negative and stressing thoughts. Refresh and think positive. Whenever you feel heavy or burdened, or even when you feel tired of doing work, or feel irritated by something or someone, take a deep breath to relax. Focus on your breathing, while you exhale and inhale. Focus on how your body acts when you breathe. Visualize that your mind is going blank and focus on emptying your mind. A simple, 20-minute meditation will make you refreshed and relaxed. Besides this, it also helps to reduce your anxiety, tension and stress.
Avoid distractions
To fully relax your lifestyle and live stress-free life, remove all the distractions. These distractions are generally the types of equipment such as mobile phones, laptops and television. While virtual presence is equally important as is the physical one, it becomes a little difficult to completely remove these distractions from our lives. But we can avoid using them when focusing or working on a particular job.
Focus
‘Concentrate and stay focused’ should be the motto of your life. When you are focused on your work, you are able to accomplish more and in an efficient manner. Concentrate on the work that you perform and give it your best. This helps to finish your task faster and in an efficient manner. Therefore, always remain focused on the goals you want to achieve.
Don’t procrastinate
As is said by the elders, tomorrow never comes. Do not leave your work for the next day. Complete your job as soon as possible. Procrastination is bad and stressful and the thought to complete the work tomorrow, never gets accomplished.
The last but not the least, always be happy! Staying happy would also mean making your body happy as well and that you can achieve by exercising. Regular exercise is a great booster for the body as it helps in decreasing the production of stress hormones, such as cortisol, and neurotransmitters that are secreted during the stress response. While one should follow certain other steps as well like following correct breathing pattern, not pressuring yourself with strenuous work goals, eating a balanced diet etc., but it is the health and contentment of your mind that would lead to happier living.
So live a happy, healthy life and always be free of stress!
Despite the fact that stress has adverse effects on our life, we still deny admitting that this could be a mental disorder. Leading a stressful life hinders our efficiency and lessens our ability to live a healthy and happy life. Being stressed, you may fall sick more often, can feel grumpy and even irritated too.Our hectic schedules and a number of responsibilities have greatly contributed to this condition and it is important to know the ways that could alleviate stressful conditions. Where meditation could decrease the level of stress, indulging in physical activities is another way to get rid of it. So, here are a few ways that should be followed for a stress-free life…Always make a point to follow a regime. A routine provides a structured and organised way of living. When our daily routine is well structured, we can utilize our day in a better way. You will also realize that you are able to complete all your work on time and still can indulge in some entertainment activities, hobbies and sports. And you will automatically feel stress-free!Wake up early in the morning. As the saying goes, “early to bed and early to rise, makes a man, healthy wealthy and wise”. So, follow a daily routine and set a time to sleep at night and when to wake up. Waking up early is not just healthy for your body but is also beneficial in improving mental health.Make a list of things that make you happy and optimistic. This technique will help to ease your stress in a positive manner. Also, make a list of work that you need to do or could accomplish in a day. The best suggestion would be to make a to-do list wherein you list all the activities, assignments or any other tasks that you need to complete. This is a good way of staying focused and organized and also completing all the tasks without thinking too much about them.If you find yourself in a bad situation or if some of your decisions have landed you in trouble, accept and find a solution for it instead of cribbing. When you accept your challenges, it has a positive impact on your mind and consciousness. This makes you stronger to face tougher situations in future as well.Never forget to take good care of you. When we are in a stressful situation, we end up getting tensed and worried without giving a thought about ourselves. We ignore our own selves either by eating unhealthy meals or by not giving our body and mind enough rest. This ignorance can more harm us greatly and could weaken our power to deal with stress.Relax your mind and body. When felling stresses, take a nap or breathe deep. Being continuously involved in work can be stressful. So, remember to take a break and connect with ‘yourself’. In this way, you will stay calm and make yourself feel better.Meditation is an excellent method of cleansing your mind from all negative and stressing thoughts. Refresh and think positive. Whenever you feel heavy or burdened, or even when you feel tired of doing work, or feel irritated by something or someone, take a deep breath to relax. Focus on your breathing, while you exhale and inhale. Focus on how your body acts when you breathe. Visualize that your mind is going blank and focus on emptying your mind. A simple, 20-minute meditation will make you refreshed and relaxed. Besides this, it also helps to reduce your anxiety, tension and stress.To fully relax your lifestyle and live stress-free life, remove all the distractions. These distractions are generally the types of equipment such as mobile phones, laptops and television. While virtual presence is equally important as is the physical one, it becomes a little difficult to completely remove these distractions from our lives. But we can avoid using them when focusing or working on a particular job.’Concentrate and stay focused’ should be the motto of your life. When you are focused on your work, you are able to accomplish more and in an efficient manner. Concentrate on the work that you perform and give it your best. This helps to finish your task faster and in an efficient manner. Therefore, always remain focused on the goals you want to achieve.As is said by the elders, tomorrow never comes. Do not leave your work for the next day. Complete your job as soon as possible. Procrastination is bad and stressful and the thought to complete the work tomorrow, never gets accomplished.The last but not the least, always be happy! Staying happy would also mean making your body happy as well and that you can achieve by exercising. Regular exercise is a great booster for the body as it helps in decreasing the production of stress hormones, such as cortisol, and neurotransmitters that are secreted during the stress response. While one should follow certain other steps as well like following correct breathing pattern, not pressuring yourself with strenuous work goals, eating a balanced diet etc., but it is the health and contentment of your mind that would lead to happier living.So live a happy, healthy life and always be free of stress!
