How does stress disrupt sleep?
Studies have revealed that stress disrupts sleep in two ways. First, increased daytime stress reduces deep sleep, which results in lighter, more restless sleep. Secondly, stress responses that occur during the day over-activate arousal systems in the brain and raise stress hormone levels in the body, which can result in elevated nocturnal stress hormones. In other words, when you are stressed during the day, your stress hormones are not just elevated during the day; they are also elevated while you sleep, which is incompatible with sound, deep sleep. Meditate for better sleep Because of the long-standing recognition that stress disrupts sleep, a significant amount of research has focused on the use of meditation-based relaxation techniques for improving sleep. Dozens of scientific studies have shown that meditation, biofeedback, muscle relaxation and breathing techniques are effective in the treatment of insomnia. These techniques all elicit a common underlying physiological response c
