Sleep & Stress

“Sleep more, stress less…”

Stress can be positive, like a deadline to get you motivated. Or in a sporting situation, like the stress of a race. Those short lived, quick to end stresses.

Chronic stress, like worries about money, your relationship, your kids, your health, etc are the ones to watch out for. They’re less obvious, under the radar kind of stresses.

The bottom line

Exercise can help, but ultimately the causes of the stress need to be addressed. It comes back to self-awareness. Being aware of what is causing you stress first of all. Then either working out a plan of action to address those issues. Or talking it through with someone you trust.

Those issues are not going away, they are more likely to become worse with time if left unresolved.

Sleep

Without rest the body does not perform properly. Just ask any parent…Lack of sleep causes stress within the body. Chronic stress.

You are more likely to want high sugar, high fat and salty foods when you’re sleep deprived and your will power will be much lower.

You’re also less likely to feel like exercising and you’ll have lower motivation. It’s a compounding effect.

Getting used to it…

The problem with a lack of sleep over time is also that you might not realise you need more of it. Maybe you’re used to feeling tired, lacklustre and fatigued. That’s your new normal and you just get on with it.

This is another time where self-awareness is a key component of understanding if you’re lacking in the sleep department.

Routine…

One good night’s sleep doesn’t make up for 4 night’s bad sleep either. Routine plays a large part of getting good sleep. Having a time when you go to bed whether it be in the week or on the weekend will work well.

It’s hard to develop these habits, but will ultimately pay off in the long run. And it’s also like all the other secrets. You don’t have to be good 100% of the time, but 80-90% of the time you do if you want to see improvements in your quality of life.

There are a million and one ways to improve how you sleep, below are just a few things to try out:

  • Turn your phone on air-plane mode 1 hour before bed
  • Turn off the computer 1 hour before bed
  • Read for 30 mins in bed
  • Try not drinking too much water in the hours leading up to bedtime
  • Get some black out curtains so no light is in your room
  • Switch off all electrical appliances so no flashing lights or standby lights are on

ACTION STEPS

  • How well are you sleeping and what are thing biggest factors stopping you getting 8 hours a night?

  • Take 1 item from the above list and see if you can do it for the next 5 nights

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