It’s the middle of the night and you’re exhausted, but you can’t sleep. You’re in a comfortable, sleep-friendly environment, but nagging thoughts are keeping you awake. Maybe there’s a project at work that you can’t stop thinking about or you’ve suddenly remembered an awkward conversation you had years ago. You’re fixating on something that you can’t change in the moment and, as much as you’d like to, you can’t seem to let it go. Does that scenario sound familiar? If it does, you’re likely experiencing some stress.
The negative impact of stress on your mind and body is the bad news. The good news is that there are ways to lessen its effects. Learning what stress does to your body and the best ways to destress can help you stop fixating on disruptive thoughts and, in turn, get a good night’s rest.
The impact of stress on your body
Your body releases cortisol when it feels threatened or stressed. Cortisol is a hormone that increases the level of sugar in your bloodstream, increases the level of glucose in your brain, and slows down your immune and digestive systems. This is part of your natural fight-or-flight response to danger. Back when humans had to be on high alert for predators, it was key to their survival. However, your response to stress can also have unintended lasting effects.
Impact of stress on your physical health. In high-stress situations, like car accidents, this system works as intended. But when your brain perceives everyday inconveniences, like traffic and work, as threats, it continuously releases cortisol, which has a disruptive effect on your physical health. Chronic stress is bad for your body. Headaches, digestion issues, muscle tension, fatigue and frequent bouts of sickness and sleep issues can all be directly linked to chronic stress.
Impact of stress on your mental health. Cortisol also affects your mental wellbeing. The effects of stress on your mental health manifest in mood changes, feelings of anxiousness, sadness, and restlessness, being overwhelmed, irritability, loss of motivation, and an inability to calm your mind.
Impact of stress on sleep. Physically and mentally not feeling well occasionally develops into sleeplessness. Unfortunately, your brain and body can best manage stress after a good night’s sleep, so being stressed and having trouble falling asleep can feel like you’re stuck in a negative cycle.
6 tips to destress
While it may be impossible to negate all stressors in your life, there are ways to manage stress so that it doesn’t have as big of an impact on your overall health. Read on for some tips on how to destress.
- Exercise regularly
- Practice mindfulness
- Keep a journal
- Hang out with your pets and loved ones
- Laugh every day
- Try herbal supplements for stress relief
1. Exercise regularly
Exercise has been shown to lower cortisol levels in your body, and it’s a great way to take your mind off of negative thoughts. Unwind before bed with a light jog, a long walk or a relaxing yoga flow. For the most stress-free experience, try exercising outdoors, as spending time in nature has also been shown to lower stress levels. But don’t do any high-intensity workouts right before bed. It takes your body a while to relax and come down from a vigorous workout, so doing a high-intensity workout right before bed can make it difficult to sleep. Save your more intense workouts for the morning.
SUMMARY: Light exercise before bed can help you to destress and promote better sleep.
2. Practice mindfulness
Mindfulness is about being aware and present in the moment. Simply focusing on the moment rather than on the past or future can help you to destress by breaking you out of a cycle of disruptive thinking. Try to think positively: What is going well in your life right now? What are you thankful for? Thinking positive thoughts in the present helps to ground you. Meditation is a similar practice you may wish to try that aims to clear your mind entirely, which has similar positive benefits.
SUMMARY: Focusing on the present moment and practicing positive thinking can help you to destress.
3. Keep a journal
Sometimes the simple act of writing something down can have a huge impact on stress. Try keeping a journal by your bed so that if there’s something bothering you when you’re trying to sleep, you can grab your journal and jot down your thoughts. For example, if you need to present a big project to your boss the next day, write it down. Make a list of all of the things you need to do to prepare, then check off what you’ve already done. Seeing how much you’ve accomplished may help you to quiet your mind and take it out of fight-or-flight mode, and thus help you to destress.
SUMMARY: Writing down your thoughts can help you to destress and calm your mind before bed.
4. Hang out with your pets and loved ones
Spending time with pets, family members and close friends has been shown to significantly reduce stress. If you’ve had a stressful week, take a long walk with your dog or meet a friend for dinner after work. Just being in their presence can help your body and mind to relax. It can also be healthy to talk about what’s stressing you out with a friend or loved one, but don’t get stuck on it! Make sure you talk about more positive things going on in both of your lives as well so you’re not only focusing on the negative.
SUMMARY: Spending time with pets and loved ones can help you to destress.
5. Laugh every day
The physical act of laughing has been shown to reduce stress. Even simply smiling can send signals to your brain that it doesn’t need to be on high alert. If you’re feeling hyper-stressed, watch your favorite funny movie, go see a comedy show, or visit a friend who always knows how to make you laugh.
SUMMARY: Laughter can help destress you
6. Try herbal supplements for stress relief
If you’re having trouble falling and staying asleep because of stress, you may need extra help. Adding herbal supplements to your daily routine can help break you out of the stress cycle.* For example, ashwagandha can help calm your body and mind. If you are having ongoing difficulty getting to sleep, be sure to speak with your healthcare provider.
SUMMARY: Supplements like ashwagandha can help you to destress.
