Stress-related Insomnia: When Your Worries Prevent You From Resting

Stress-related insomnia is not uncommon. Difficulty falling asleep is often caused by an overactive head. Sometimes it feels impossible to turn your brain off before you go to bed. Our thoughts and worries can be so prominent that they prevent us from falling asleep. After many sleepless nights, we can suffer from extreme exhaustion.

Insomnia is not a deadly disease. However, it takes away the quality of life of those who suffer from it. It is important to remember that a sleepless brain is synonymous with the inability to focus, store new information and respond to simple stimuli in an effective way.

All this creates a vicious circle where lack of rest ends up amplifying the stress. Little by little, we can go from transient insomnia to a chronic sleep disorder. This is not an easy problem to deal with. The lack of restful sleep is actually one of the main causes of traffic accidents.

In fact, the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident was the result of a human error caused by workers’ lack of rest. Similarly, we can not ignore the fact that long-term stress-related insomnia generates social, physical and cognitive impairment. This can end up causing depression.

Stress-Related Insomnia: What Causes It?

Psychosomatic Medicine published a study¹ conducted by doctors Charles M. Morin and Sylvie Rodriguez. This study concluded with something that most of us can guess. We all experience stress on a daily basis, right? But sometimes the stress ends up taking over. It’s too much for us to deal with.

When the brain interprets that it does not have control over many of these stressful situations, it experiences hyperactivation. The smallest problems take on too large dimensions and everything becomes a threat. Little by little we enter a state where our thoughts weigh us down. Our thoughts end up consuming us, making us anxious and filling us with fear at night.

On the other hand, people who have adequate coping skills handle stress more appropriately. Said skills allow them to prevent the intrusion of disturbing thoughts at night.

Characteristics and effects of chronic insomnia

Stress-related insomnia is not linked to any organic disease. Let’s see some revealing signs of this condition:

• Problems falling asleep.
• Waking up several times a night, which sometimes makes it impossible to fall asleep again.
• Problems finding a comfortable position to sleep in.
• Intrusive thoughts and mental images.
• Nightmares.
• Digestive pain, tremors and nocturnal headaches.

On the other hand, stress-related insomnia can be temporary (if it lasts for 2 days and up to 2 weeks). However, it can also become chronic primary insomnia if it lasts for more than 3 weeks. In the latter case, the person begins to present the following symptoms:

• Irritability.
• Exhaustion.
• Problems concentrating.
• Poor work performance.

• Somatic complaints: muscle pain, digestive problems and headaches.

After the first month, the person may begin to experience dysphoria, apathy and helplessness. As we pointed out, and as a study conducted at the University of Texas showed, chronic insomnia can lead to depression in many cases.

How to combat stress-related insomnia?

Dr. Daniel J. Taylor of the University of Texas at San Antonio reminded us in an interesting article published in the International Review of Psychiatry that many people who want to treat insomnia resort to medication instead of psychological therapy.

If the patient does not learn to deal with the trigger, which is stressful in this case, they may end up developing a psychological disorder. Therefore, cognitive behavioral therapy is undoubtedly one of the most effective treatments for stress-related insomnia.

On the other hand, it is also useful to incorporate some simple strategies:

• Make sure your bed is comfortable and that you have a suitable mattress.
• External stimuli such as light and noise must be minimal.
• Air and moisten your bedroom.
• The bedroom temperature should be between 16 ° C and 18 ° C.
• Follow a routine. This means that you have to go to bed at the same time every day.
• Avoid watching TV or using your phone or computer for an hour before going to bed. It is better to lie down to read a book.
• Avoid having heavy meals for dinner.
• Practices like mindfulness help fight stress-related insomnia. Do not hesitate to start combining breathing exercises with meditation.

Do not be afraid to ask for professional help if your sleep problems last for more than 2 weeks. A hyperactive head and worrying thoughts not only prevent you from sleeping, but also take away your quality of life.