How to Restore Sleep When You're Stressed

From an evolutionary point of view, the task of stress is to push for actions that provide safety. It is believed that humanity survived due to anxiety: those who were not worried and went to hug the tiger were less likely to survive and give offspring. To fall asleep in an unsafe situation for the body is to put yourself at risk. Therefore, the body will not let us sleep until we resolve the situation.

Before taking sleeping pills, it is important to consult with a specialist. It will help you choose the drug with the necessary mechanisms of work. There are remedies that help well with sleep disorders associated with changing time zones, but do not give the desired effect if insomnia is caused by another.

I do not recommend Corvalol, Valocordin and other barbiturates to patients. These drugs help to fall asleep, but have a bad effect on the duration and depth of sleep. You can start with natural anti-anxiety remedies - herbal preparations with mint, valerian, motherwort, lemon balm and passionflower.

I recommend to my patients meditation to breath. Get in a comfortable position and set a timer for 10 minutes. Your task is to think only about the process of inhalation and exhalation. This is not always easy: according to the law of meanness, brilliant ideas or thoughts about important matters come to mind at this time. Try not to scold yourself for being distracted, but to return to breathing again. You may be able to focus for just a minute the first time. But the more you practice, the easier it will be to concentrate.

The type of training should be chosen depending on the type of stress. If you are in a “fight or flight” state, then active activities are more suitable - rocking, dancing, running, cleaning the apartment. If you feel that you have no strength for anything, you just want to lie down and cry in a blanket, active training can be even more demoralizing. It is better to try something slower and more contemplative, such as qigong or yoga. Imagine a shy animal: if you want to approach it, you will not make sudden movements. You need to do the same with yourself carefully and carefully.

If you're in bed but can't sleep, try to distract yourself. Engage in some monotonous activity: start wash refrigerator, wipe the dust, rearrange the books on the shelf. After 20 minutes, you can return to bed and try to fall asleep again.