by Diane Stacey

Created on: July 31, 2007

Science has discovered a connection between stress and sleep disorders. If you ask a person living under these conditions, you will find there are several consequences resulting from their situation. Stress impedes their ability to sleep. The mind won't quiet and there can be physical changes such as elevated blood pressure or heart rate which make it difficult to relax.

Studies are finding that when an individual experiences both stress and disturbances in the quantity and quality of sleep, there can be serious results. These can include mental and mood disorders, memory loss or impairment, depression and physiological changes. Our bodies can experience headaches, dizziness, nausea and pain. Our mental processes can become sluggishness, making simple tasks difficult and planning hard to achieve. The more interrupted our lives become from sleep disorders, the more stress we develop. It can be a never ending cycle.

Stress seems to be part of our daily existence. Our bodies were even designed to manage some amount of stress, utilizing the "fight or flight" mechanism. We encounter a traumatic event and experience a physiological reaction to a stressor. The body releases a chemical called adrenaline which helps our systems take action and maintain vitality.

There are many different factors relating to stress. Stress tests are available in many locations including the doctor's office, the workplace and the internet. The tests list stress factors that can occur in general. Each factor has a rating that determines the impact of that event. As the test is scored, the total of stress factors determines the severity of stress in the individual's life.

We live in a world of change. If you consider change alone, there are many areas of our life affected by change, and the reactions can be physical, emotional, mental or spiritual. The sum of our experience adds extra pressure and eventually we can reach a point where the body can't manage what we are experiencing. When the body can no longer handle these responses, we have an environment where disease and disorders can set in and sleep is a rare event.

Sleep is a big area affected by stress. When it is time to rest, we create an environment of peace and calm, yet we can't be calm if our bodies are continuously flooding with adrenalin. We understand this is a time when our minds should stop processing the day's events. We hope for a restorative night of sleep. We don't all understand the value of being well rested and having

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>