In: Categories » Self improvement » Stress and motivation » More Sleep to reduce Stress
|
Sleep deprivation is chronic in our culture. In the United States, a National Sleep Foundation survey revealed that two out of three people get less than the recommended eight hours of sleep per night; of that group, one out of three gets less than six hours of sleep. Sleep deprivation is one of the chief aggravators of stress. Lack of sleep increases levels of cortisol, a stress hormone. Sleep deprivation affects the immune system (depleting certain cells needed to destroy viruses and cancerous cells), promotes the growth of fat instead of muscle, and may speed up the aging process. Cortisol is released by the adrenal gland in response to stress. It essentially is an alertness hormone that makes you take action. This is what causes you to be alert in important meetings, helping you close the sale or deal. The hormone will subside as the stressful event passes. Normally, cortisol declines before sleep as a way of preparing the body for the resting state. Conversely, cortisol increases in the morning to make you more alert. A common reason people cut down on sleep is to make time for a workout before the day begins. It’s not unusual for many to rise at 5:00 A.M. in order to get exercise. This, according to sleep experts, only compromises health and increases stress. Sleep involves two phases: rapid eye movement (REM) and non–rapid eye movement. REM sleep, researchers believe, is when we dream, an important component of mental health. Non-REM sleep is our deepest sleep. During this phase, the body resets various hormones and replenishes energy stores. Roughly 50 percent of people diagnosed with depression get too much REM sleep and not enough deep sleep, the replenishing sleep. According to a study done at the University of Westminster in London, stress levels are actually lower in people who wake up later than 7:21 A.M. One way to find more sleep is to schedule nap times. Napping after work for a couple of hours (or during the day if you work from home) can dramatically improve sleep deprivation. Avoiding alcohol and caffeine before bedtime also can help.
|
legal disclaimer
1) Our website is not responsible for the information contained by this article as well for any and all copyright infringements by authors and writers. E-articles is a free information resource. If you suspect this article for any copyright infringements, please read the Terms of service and contact us to investigate the problem.
2) The E-articles directory team is not responsible for inaccuracies, falsehoods, or any other types of misinformation this tutorial may contain and will not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by a user through the user's reliance on the information gained here. Please read the Terms of service
Useful tools and features
If you like this article (tutorial), please link to it from your web page using the information above. Linking to this page, this is the only way to help us improve our service, the same time providing your visitors with a way to improve their online experience.
related articles
Many people meander through life, muddling along without great hope or direction. They think this is the easiest way. But is it? Are they short- changing themselves? Developing one’s authentic self, the vital and best part of oneself, is not difficult or unnatural. In being true to your self, you give up the parts of you that are not genuine or natural. You stop acting. You stop pretending to be interested or excited in things that bore you. You stop worrying about what other people think of you. What could be easier? More rew...
2. Tips on How To Manage Crisis Situations
Crises are bound to come from time to time. When a crisis happens, we lose control of the situation. As we manage through the crisis, we attempt to regain control. (Some of us are crisis managers. We say, “I do my best work under pressure.”) The only way to prevent the same type of crisis from happening again is to learn from it, to debrief after the crisis is over, to understand the root causes behind the crisis, and to take steps to keep them from recurring. Crisis managers don’t have time t...
3. How to Accept Yourself
Too many of us have bought into negative self images. The major social problems in our society — drug addiction, alcoholism, crime, teenage gangs, divorce and most others — begin with a poor self image and low self esteem. Most criminals have low self esteem. All you need to do to confirm this is visit a prison and talk to the inmates. The first thing you will notice is that they continually look down at the floor when speaking to you. This is a dead giveaway of a low self image. During one of my workshops, a...
4. Breathing Exercises to Relieve Stress
Deep breathing helps to relieve a range of stress-related symptoms such as anxiety, panic attacks, and irritability. In fact, sighing and yawning are signs that that you’re not getting enough oxygen in your body; the sigh or yawn is your body’s way of righting the situation. The following deep-breathing techniques are modeled after yogic breathing exercises and can calm the nervous system, relax the small arteries, and permanently lower blood pressure: • Abdominal breathing. Lie do...
Every morning, all over China, people of all ages gather at parks to do their daily qi gong exercises. Pronounced “chee gong,” these are exercises that help get your life-force energy f lowing and unblocked. The word qi means vitality, energy, and life force; the word gong means practice, cultivate, refine. Qi gong is similar to tai chi, except it allows for greater flexibility in routine. Qi gong is modeled after movements in wildlife (such as birds or animals), as well as trees and oth...
6. Rules of Motivation and Success
Motivation brings success and fortunes. Therefore we pay attention to motivation. If you are in a leadership role as a manager, chances are you are preoccupied with how to motivate others. We talk about motivation. We read about motivation. Most of us remember salient points about motivational theories.But are we motivated to do anything about it ? What can we do ? Can we motivate others ? No , we can not motivate others but we can create the conditions for others to motivate themselves Seven Rules Of Motivation ...
7. How To Recover From A Breakup
Use the Extreme F.A.S.T. breakup recovery method to get over your ex for once and for all. This easy to follow method has four steps. Face It, Accept It, See The Lessons and Take Yourself To A New Level. The first step is Face It. The alternative to facing it, is denying it. You can accelerate your healing process by facing what you need to face. It's important to know what to face and how. This is a crutial step to start feeling better. The second step in the Extreme F.A.S.T. breakup rec...
8. Harassment
Harassment refers to comments and conduct that is known, or ought reasonably to be known, to be unwelcome. Did you know that: Harassment covers a broad ranges of issues? These include: ancestry; age; race; place of origin; colour; creed; ...
9. Finding the Right Mentor
When Odysseus embarked on his long journey in The Odyssey, he chose his wise friend Mentor to guard, guide, and teach his son, Telemachus. All of us can benefit from having someone to help us. But picking the right person is key, so that the end benefit will be achieved. Not every smart, articulate, experienced person makes for a perfect mentor. Picking or being matched with the wrong person will produce limited results. In fact, the outcome could even be a career-limiting experience as your mentor might badmouth y...
10. How to keep yourself motivated
Many people rely on others to motivate them into doing something. Selfmotivation is a rarer quality, and it is also a distinct leadership trait. Most people do things for a reward of some kind, but some people do things because they feel it is the right thing to do or they feel good about doing it or it gives them a sense of purpose. Keeping yourself motivated can sometimes be difficult. Study yourself and determine when you are the most active and effective. When are you the most inactive and ineffective? How does the time of day af...