Why we stress more at night

By Blair Morris

November 17, 2019

If you spend too many laps in bed before going to sleep, you want to know why we stress at night.

Stress steals our sleep, but why do we stress more at night? Insomnia is one of the unmistakable symptoms of stress and anxiety. The worries, the overload of work, the excess of family responsibilities … can make us spend more than one night awake. And it is precisely during the night when trying to fall asleep when the mind is more vulnerable to being carried away by negative thoughts.

When our thoughts prevent us from relaxing, it is because we have accumulated too much stress throughout the day, and this not only makes us lose control but also increases the risk of having nighttime anxiety and sleep difficulties, from problems falling asleep to waking up frequently overnight.

When stress does not let you sleep

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Going to bed and falling asleep is not the same, because the body requires a time to relax and reduce body temperature and heart rate. When we are unable to disconnect and stop worrying, and even when we go to sleep without turning off the phone, it is more complicated for sleep to occur as fast as we would like.

Stress, worries or emotional problems often lead to neglecting sleep hygiene and doing things you should not do before going to sleep, forgetting that falling asleep naturally requires calmness and relaxation.

When negative thoughts assail us before we sleep, we also forget that at night we will not be able to solve them, so the most appropriate decision, in this case, is to leave it for tomorrow. Keeping it going will only increase worry and alertness. However, when we wake up, we will surely see things from a more positive perspective.

What to do when you can not sleep?

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In addition to maintaining regular sleep schedules (going to bed and getting up at the same time), there are other tips we can put into practice to sleep better:

  • Performing relaxation and breathing exercises before sleep help replace negative thoughts with more positive ones.
  • Keep mobile phones and electronic devices away at least one hour before going to sleep.
  • Listening to relaxing music or the habit of reading also promotes relaxation, inducing sleep.
  • Create a pleasant environment to sleep (use a comfortable pillow, temperature, light …).
  • Apply a few drops of essential oil spray on the pillow (lavender oil) is a natural remedy for relaxing effect.

About Blair Morris