A large number of people around the globe face financial stress in their everyday life. Stress arising from insecurities caused by constantly growing debt, unforeseen expenditures, medical bills, house rents, etc., can often lead to a marked loss of sleep. This decline in sleep quality can further deteriorate certain other problems related to physical and mental health such as increased body weight, anxiety, fatigue, high blood pressure, etc.
It is obvious that whatever worries you have related to money will need time to get settled but allowing the stress to build prevents you from throwing your best at it. We have therefore come up with a much-needed list of 6 effective ways that help you combat your financial stress without losing your good night’s sleep.
#01 Follow a Sleep Schedule
The relation between sleeping and stress arising from financial problems often results in a disrupted sleep schedule. No matter what goes in your life, it is important that you maintain a consistent sleeping routine where you wake up and fall asleep every day at around the same time. Not only does this help you achieve the required 8 hours of sleep at a regular basis, but also make it easier to doze off once you are on the bed. It is highly probable that your mind continues to drift into money-related problems even after you retire to the bed, but having a consistent sleeping time can make it much easier to fall asleep. To make things further easier, maintain a bedtime ritual that includes activities that help reduce the stress and soothe your mind. Activities such as reading a book, listening to pleasant music, performing light yoga or meditation can effectively calm your mind and prepare it for the sleep ahead.
#02 Reduce Screen Time
While it might seem comforting to dive into the world of news and entertainment to relax your brain, prolonged screen time does just the opposite. Our concern related to screen time is not limited just to the anxiety-causing news but also pertains to the effect it has on your eyes. The blue-light emitting from electronics such as TVs, laptops, smartphones, etc., disrupts the production of sleep hormone called melatonin in the body. To save your eyes from the short and high-energy wavelengths, it is recommended that you turn off any such electronics at least 90 minutes before bedtime.
#03 Bedroom Environment is Key
Whether you are an office clerk or a budding entrepreneur, a daily wage worker or a passionate artist, at the end of the day, all you need is a bedroom that best suits your sleeping habits. Make sure that your room is free of clutter as messy room are often known to elevate stress levels. Try to make your room free of any external noise or light that can disrupt your sleep. Pick up the mattress that provides you the right amount of comfort and enough firmness to support the natural alignment of your body. Go through insidebedroom.com to view a range of mattresses that prevent the act of snoring.
#04 Decrease Stress
Once you understand how stress affects sleep, the first thing you need to do is perform activities that that take the stress away from your mind and body. Save all the money-related talk for the daytime and avoid bringing up or thinking about financial matters in the night. A small amount of regular exercise has been scientifically proven to reduce stress by regulating the body’s endorphins, a naturally occurring neurochemical in the brain that combat stress. Even simple aerobic exercises when done on a daily basis can work wonders in reducing stress levels in the body and fight depression by lowering the amount of stress hormones in the body like cortisol and adrenaline.
#05 Avoid Smoking and Drinking
According to a past study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, older adults who went through financial strain were found more likely to drink or smoke. Numerous researches have shown how the act of smoking can lead to sleep disorders like insomnia and sleep apnea. Similarly, the habit of drinking is also associated with a disrupted sleep cycle, where the rapid eye movement (REM) sleep that occurs at the later part of the sleep is particularly affected. Certain parasomnias like teeth grinding and sleep talking can often result from a disrupted REM sleep due to alcohol use. It is worth mentioning that removing such items from your monthly budget can also help you save a lot of money.
#06 Maintain a Diary
Maintaining a diary is a great way to organize yourself and acknowledge and confront the stress you are going through. Jot down all the reasons and underlying experiences that are causing the stress at the first place. Consider making changes to your financial approach by creating a monthly budget to monitor your spending and plan for the future. This allows you to set both short- and long-term goals related to your finances thus allowing you some kind of security. Make sure that you regularly assess how the diary writing has helped you organize your spending and if it has affected your sleep quality for the better. Including the process of diary writing as one of your bedtime rituals can also help ease the process of winding down to help you sleep better.
Bottomline:
The relation between sleep and stress is mutual which is why you must ensure that neither of the two is worsening the other. For help with managing your stress, consider BetterHelp online counseling.
Researches in the past state the fact that people who sleep less than eight hours every night experience heightened stress levels explains how sleep affects stress. We hope that the aforementioned tips help you understand how does stress affect sleep and how you can combat it.
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