Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsUnderstanding Stress and InsomniaTypes of Stress InsomniaHow to Deal With Stress InsomniaGet Help

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Table of Contents

Understanding Stress and Insomnia

Types of Stress Insomnia

How to Deal With Stress Insomnia

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Stress insomnia is when high levels of stress and anxiety prevent you from getting adequate sleep. Are you so stressed aboutfinances, yourjob, arelationship conflict, or another issue that you’re experiencing insomnia?

At any given time, about one-third of adults have insomnia in some form.Although these sleep issues aren’t always due to stress, when the two are combined, it can make matters worse.

A sleep deficit can make you feel mentally slower and more emotional; for instance, can end up making your experience ofstressworse. And if your insomniaisstress-related, being overly tired does nothing to help solve the problems creating the stress.

At a GlanceStress can make it hard to sleep and can even contribute to problems with insomnia. Dealing with lasting insomnia can cause stress, which can lead to more stress-related insomnia. It’s a vicious stress-insomnia cycle. How do you get out of it and relieve your sleep issues? Trying some stress-related insomnia remedies can help you start toget higher-quality sleep. Tactics that can help include progressive muscle relaxation, journaling, and cognitive behavioral therapy.

At a Glance

Stress can make it hard to sleep and can even contribute to problems with insomnia. Dealing with lasting insomnia can cause stress, which can lead to more stress-related insomnia. It’s a vicious stress-insomnia cycle. How do you get out of it and relieve your sleep issues? Trying some stress-related insomnia remedies can help you start toget higher-quality sleep. Tactics that can help include progressive muscle relaxation, journaling, and cognitive behavioral therapy.

Stress and Insomnia: How They Are Connected

Insomnia can be connected to problems with stress and anxiety. Lying awake worring about problems that are creating stress can make it difficult to fall asleep, and can even cause waking during the the night.

When you experience stress insomnia, you are also more likely to have problems with:

Prolonged stresscan also contribute to other health problems, including autoimmune disorders, reduced immunity, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and obesity.

Stress-related insomnia can take different forms. The type of stress you are experiencing can determine how severe and lasting your insomnia might be.

Acute Stress

Sometimes it’s related to a sudden but temporary source of stress and anxiety. Examples of acute stressors that can interfere with sleep include:

While challenging, sleep issues related to these stressors tend to resolve on their own with time. Taking steps to improve sleep and care for yourself may be helpful.

Chronic Stress

In other instances,chronic stresscan create long-term issues with insomnia. Examples of chronic stressors that can interfere with sleep include:

Stress and insomnia become a vicious cycle. Experiencing chronic stress can cause insomnia, and insomnia then makes chronic stress worse.

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Fortunately, there are a number of strategies that can help you learn to better manage stress a, which may help make it easier to fall and stay asleep.

Try Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Tension in your body can make it difficult to sleep. You may not even realize when you’re stressed about something, but your body can still feel the physical effects of stress, leaving muscles tensed up as a result.

Progressive muscle relaxationhas been an accepted evidence-based treatment for insomnia for years.It is also a great tool for de-stressing your body.

To practice progressive muscle relaxation for stress-related insomnia:

Journal About Your Stressors

The act ofjournalingcarries several health and stress management benefits.In the stress-insomnia cycle, journaling can help you clear your mind, process strong emotions that are causing you to lose sleep, and brainstorm and construct plans that can help you manage the situations causing you stress.

If you can’t fall asleep because you can’t stop thinking about something that’s causing you stress during the day, journaling may be an effective technique for you.

Change Your Perspective

If you’re losing sleep due to stress, you may be able to relax and get better sleep with a change of perspective. The benefit of this approach is that it can help break the stress-insomnia connection.

Looking at a situation from different angles can help you see opportunities you may have missed.Cognitive restructuring—which involves recognizing and changing the way you think—helps you change your perspective about a stressful situation.

Stress-relatedanxiety(and the insomnia it creates) is often a natural response to situations that need some sort of action. Viewing your situation as a challenge to be faced rather than a threat can help you get into an active, decision-making mode rather than remaining in an anxious, passive state.

Why Is My Brain Overactive at Night?Experiencing fewer outside distractions provides an opportunity for thoughts (and stressors) to creep in. Oftentimes,nighttime thoughtsare negative, which activates the body’s fight-or-flight system and results in stress-related insomnia.

Why Is My Brain Overactive at Night?

Experiencing fewer outside distractions provides an opportunity for thoughts (and stressors) to creep in. Oftentimes,nighttime thoughtsare negative, which activates the body’s fight-or-flight system and results in stress-related insomnia.

How to Shut Your Brain Off From Anxiety

Take the Pressure Off Sleep

If you are experiencing stress insomnia symptoms, bedtime itself can become stressful. If this is where you are, there are a few things you can do to take the stress off falling and staying asleep.

First, if you’re having trouble sleeping and are sure that sleep is a long way off, you might want to get up and do something else. This stops you from watching the clock for hours and can help youfeel more in controlof your time as you engage in other activities, such as:

It can also help toavoid caffeineduring the afternoon and evening. Also, make the decision to use your bedroom primarily for sleep so that you associate it with rest and relaxation as opposed to stress.

Get Help for Your Stress Insomnia

Many people who suffer from insomnia do not seek help. This is unfortunate because treatments, includingcognitive behavioral therapyand medication can provide relief. These can help you take charge of your stress-related insomnia.

If you’re experiencing persistent insomnia, talk to your healthcare provider about your options. They can provide the best stress insomnia remedies for you given your stressors and your individual situation.

‘I Want to Sleep But My Body Won’t Let Me’: Why Does This Happen?

7 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Roth T.Insomnia: definition, prevalence, etiology, and consequences.J Clin Sleep Med. 2007;3(5 Suppl):S7–S10.Mariotti A.The effects of chronic stress on health: new insights into the molecular mechanisms of brain-body communication.Future Sci OA. 2015;1(3):FSO23. doi:10.4155/fso.15.21Kalmbach DA, Anderson JR, Drake CL.The impact of stress on sleep: Pathogenic sleep reactivity as a vulnerability to insomnia and circadian disorders.J Sleep Res. 2018;27(6):e12710. doi:10.1111/jsr.12710Morin CM, Hauri PJ, Espie CA, Spielman AJ, Buysse DJ, Bootzin RR.Nonpharmacologic treatment of chronic insomnia. An American Academy of Sleep Medicine review.Sleep.1999;22(8):1134-1156. doi:10.1093/sleep/22.8.1134Colori S.Journaling as therapy.Schizophr Bull.2018;44(2):226-228. doi:10.1093/schbul/sbv066American Academy of Sleep Medicine.Cognitive behavioral therapy.Benham G.Bedtime repetitive negative thinking moderates the relationship between psychological stress and insomnia.Stress Health. 2021;37(5):949-961. doi:10.1002/smi.3055Additional ReadingVarkevisser M, Kerkhof GA.Chronic insomnia and performance in a 24-h constant routine study.J Sleep Res.2005;14(1):49-59. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2869.2004.00414.x

7 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Roth T.Insomnia: definition, prevalence, etiology, and consequences.J Clin Sleep Med. 2007;3(5 Suppl):S7–S10.Mariotti A.The effects of chronic stress on health: new insights into the molecular mechanisms of brain-body communication.Future Sci OA. 2015;1(3):FSO23. doi:10.4155/fso.15.21Kalmbach DA, Anderson JR, Drake CL.The impact of stress on sleep: Pathogenic sleep reactivity as a vulnerability to insomnia and circadian disorders.J Sleep Res. 2018;27(6):e12710. doi:10.1111/jsr.12710Morin CM, Hauri PJ, Espie CA, Spielman AJ, Buysse DJ, Bootzin RR.Nonpharmacologic treatment of chronic insomnia. An American Academy of Sleep Medicine review.Sleep.1999;22(8):1134-1156. doi:10.1093/sleep/22.8.1134Colori S.Journaling as therapy.Schizophr Bull.2018;44(2):226-228. doi:10.1093/schbul/sbv066American Academy of Sleep Medicine.Cognitive behavioral therapy.Benham G.Bedtime repetitive negative thinking moderates the relationship between psychological stress and insomnia.Stress Health. 2021;37(5):949-961. doi:10.1002/smi.3055Additional ReadingVarkevisser M, Kerkhof GA.Chronic insomnia and performance in a 24-h constant routine study.J Sleep Res.2005;14(1):49-59. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2869.2004.00414.x

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Roth T.Insomnia: definition, prevalence, etiology, and consequences.J Clin Sleep Med. 2007;3(5 Suppl):S7–S10.Mariotti A.The effects of chronic stress on health: new insights into the molecular mechanisms of brain-body communication.Future Sci OA. 2015;1(3):FSO23. doi:10.4155/fso.15.21Kalmbach DA, Anderson JR, Drake CL.The impact of stress on sleep: Pathogenic sleep reactivity as a vulnerability to insomnia and circadian disorders.J Sleep Res. 2018;27(6):e12710. doi:10.1111/jsr.12710Morin CM, Hauri PJ, Espie CA, Spielman AJ, Buysse DJ, Bootzin RR.Nonpharmacologic treatment of chronic insomnia. An American Academy of Sleep Medicine review.Sleep.1999;22(8):1134-1156. doi:10.1093/sleep/22.8.1134Colori S.Journaling as therapy.Schizophr Bull.2018;44(2):226-228. doi:10.1093/schbul/sbv066American Academy of Sleep Medicine.Cognitive behavioral therapy.Benham G.Bedtime repetitive negative thinking moderates the relationship between psychological stress and insomnia.Stress Health. 2021;37(5):949-961. doi:10.1002/smi.3055

Roth T.Insomnia: definition, prevalence, etiology, and consequences.J Clin Sleep Med. 2007;3(5 Suppl):S7–S10.

Mariotti A.The effects of chronic stress on health: new insights into the molecular mechanisms of brain-body communication.Future Sci OA. 2015;1(3):FSO23. doi:10.4155/fso.15.21

Kalmbach DA, Anderson JR, Drake CL.The impact of stress on sleep: Pathogenic sleep reactivity as a vulnerability to insomnia and circadian disorders.J Sleep Res. 2018;27(6):e12710. doi:10.1111/jsr.12710

Morin CM, Hauri PJ, Espie CA, Spielman AJ, Buysse DJ, Bootzin RR.Nonpharmacologic treatment of chronic insomnia. An American Academy of Sleep Medicine review.Sleep.1999;22(8):1134-1156. doi:10.1093/sleep/22.8.1134

Colori S.Journaling as therapy.Schizophr Bull.2018;44(2):226-228. doi:10.1093/schbul/sbv066

American Academy of Sleep Medicine.Cognitive behavioral therapy.

Benham G.Bedtime repetitive negative thinking moderates the relationship between psychological stress and insomnia.Stress Health. 2021;37(5):949-961. doi:10.1002/smi.3055

Varkevisser M, Kerkhof GA.Chronic insomnia and performance in a 24-h constant routine study.J Sleep Res.2005;14(1):49-59. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2869.2004.00414.x

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