Stress and sleep are connected. When you are (very) stressed, it can affect your sleep and vice versa. So when you are not sleeping well, this can in turn increase your stress level. When this keeps reinforcing each other (days in a row), you end up in a vicious cycle where these two factors keep making each other worse.

Stress and sleep

Stress directly affects our sleep and ability to sleep well and deeply. When you are stressed your body produces hormones. One of those hormones is cortisol, this keeps us alert (sometimes very convenient). But when there is too much cortisol in your body for too long, it disrupts deep sleep.

Sleep and stress

Sleep, or especially the lack of it, affects your stress. When you do not sleep enough or well, your brain does not function optimally and you probably have more difficulty dealing with stressful(er) situations. Perhaps you recognize that you are more irritable when you haven't slept well. Or maybe you notice that you are more anxious and not as resilient to things that happen during the day. This in turn reinforces the stress cycle.

Breaking the vicious cycle

Fortunately, you can take action yourself to break this cycle:

• Meditation: a few minutes of meditation a day can already help you become more balanced and reduce your stress levels. Breathing techniques can also calm your nervous system.
• Restful sleep environment: make sure you make a good sleep environment with as little light and as few stimuli as possible. A place where you really unwind and where you only come to sleep. Make sure you are not in bed with phone or still watching TV. This is how you train your body on sleeping in your bedroom.
• Schedule time for rest: plan some moments in your day when you take a very short time to breathe, to rest. For example, you can do the mediation or breathing mentioned above. But also a small round of walking or 1 minute of exercise have a positive effect.
• Exercise: exercising every day is very important for your health, and also to regulate your stress levels. Just make sure not to do any intense exercise before bedtime, rather schedule it in the morning or afternoon. Yoga can also work very nicely to reduce your feelings of stress.

So break your own patterns and get a good night's sleep and as little stress as possible during the day. You are helping yourself tremendously by getting to work on your own health!