How are our bodies affected by stress while we sleep? Do you have trouble not sleeping well, and not feeling the greatest during the day? I am talking about ailments not necessarily caused by taking too long to fall asleep or waking up in the middle of the night but identifying things that are happening to our bodies while we sleep when we carry too much stress throughout the day.
Stress While We Sleep
This statement may be a bit abstruse, but it is odd to think that once we fall asleep the stress of the day melts away, right? Not only does it hang around, but it also wreaks havoc on our bodies and our brain.
Musculoskeletal System
How are our bodies affected by stress when we sleep is the question of the day? Have you ever woken up in the morning to muscle pain and discomfort? Have you chalked it up to aging and joke that you pulled your back out while you slept? I have said this too, but here is a big reality–stress has a dramatic effect on our musculoskeletal system. Stress causes our muscles to contract due to decreased blood flow. So, when we are dealing with chronic states of stress that are not addressed in some way during your waking hours, you go to bed and your muscles do not relax as you would expect them to. Over time, you can have an increased likelihood of muscle cramping and injury, migraines, chronic neck pain, temporomandibular joint pain (TMJ), and low back/hip dysfunction. It is sobering to think that many of your daily aches and pains are due to not addressing stress during your waking hours and are exacerbated during your sleeping ones.
I am no stranger to this phenomenon, and it took me doing a little bit of digging to open my eyes to it. I am a fantastic sleeper. Even when my adrenals are fritzing, sleep comes easily. Pain also seemingly comes easy. I deal with some type of pain on a daily basis and making a few changes has really helped. More on those in a minute.
Inflammation and our Brain
You may have cringed when you read the word inflammation, but alas it is true. Chronic stress results in chronic inflammation in the body. The first concerns with these levels of inflammation point back to pain, but also heart disease and diabetes. Here is another very concerning phenomenon. Our blood-brain barrier usually does a fantastic job at keeping the inflammatory molecules from passing to the brain, but chronic stress and increasing levels of inflammation break it down. A great analogy for this is a dam. The dam represents your blood-brain barrier, but a great force and volume of water could break the dam. Now the inflammatory molecules are slowly leaking into the brain. What does this mean for us?
Studies show that the first part of the brain to be affected is the hippocampus. This area of our brain is linked primarily to learning and memory, and increased inflammation causes trouble with memory…hello foggy thinking, causes issues with mental agility, what did I come in this room for? Other troublesome side effects can be a lack of motivation and concerns regulating mood. Unfortunately, this points to an increased risk of depression.
HPA Axis
Our hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis is series of interactions between endocrine glands in the brain and on the kidney, it is a classic feedback loop very similar to the HVAC system in our home. The HPA axis is the feedback loop that controls your body’s reaction to stress. In laymen’s terms, the HPA axis is activated under stress, and cortisol (stress hormone) is released into the bloodstream. Cortisol is priming your brain and body for action, so you are ready to slay the dragon, or run away fast. High levels of cortisol sadly affect every system of our body over time when it is not managed, and as our HPA axis becomes dysregulated, or the feedback loop has a disconnect, things begin to go astray. HPA axis dysfunction also causes issues with the hippocampus and our endocrine system as a whole begins to struggle.
These are just a few of the ways that our bodies are affected by stress when we sleep. I know this all seems daunting, but if your address your stress, and do not bypass it during your waking hours, you can in fact have the kind of sleep that your body needs. Our body is meant to regenerate and heal. More specifically, our brain releases melatonin which helps you fall asleep and stay asleep. While you are in slumberland, your pituitary gland releases growth hormone which encourages growth and repair.
You may sleep well, but if your HPA axis is not functioning, your muscles remain contracted, and you have high levels of inflammation in your body and brain….you are still far from optimal health.
Aim for 7-8 hours “they say”, but I would like to take that a bit further.
Answer the 911 call
- Having a good diet is imperative. I am not advocating that you go on a diet, I am advocating that you remove inflammatory foods like dairy, conventional meat, and all preserved foods. Have allergies? Feel really cruddy after eating specific foods? Try an elimination diet. What you put in your mouth goes a long way to your overall health.
- Stress, especially the chronic variety, needs specific things such as vitamin C and magnesium just to name a few. I take magnesium citrate every night one hour before bed to help my muscles to relax during sleep, and I combine this with stretches via a mini stretch sesh session or some time on my yoga mat.
- Additionally, I take herbs in various forms such as ashwagandha, milky oat, Schisandra berry, and a few others. Follow the links here and here to learn more about herbs that can help you.
*Always complete your own research to make sure that these herbs are right for you.
- Utilize Apps on your Phone
The pandemic of 2020 propelled the phone app Calm to new heights. April of 2020 the app surpassed 1.6 million downloads, and the app is completely worth the yearly cost of approximately $60. I utilize Calm at least once a day to meditate. There are also tools to help you perform deep breathing techniques as well as masterclasses to help you learn new tools. These tools help the brain create new neuron pathways and connections, also called neuroplasticity. These new tools help you slay stress levels and bring more mindfulness into your day. Ding-Ding…this means an increase in healing for the body while you are asleep.
Headspace is a close second in my book, the free version is quite impressive. You can utilize their free classes, listen to calming music, and even exercise with free yoga classes or mindful cardio.
A few other apps that I have tried and recommend are Insight Timer, FitOn, The Mindfulness App, and Buddhify.
- Bring more joy into your day by utilizing a few exercises found here.
There is no one size fits all for reducing or at best coping better with stress so that our bodies function optimally and repair as expected while we sleep. If you are struggling like millions of others, please keep the option open to ask for help when needed. This shows strength, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. ❤️
Want to read more about stress? I am a bit of a self-proclaimed expert…lol…funny, not funny.
Read on my friends…
Like so many practices in life, I encourage you to become educated on the proper use of essential oils. When using them, please do so cautiously, understanding that there is often misinformation on the internet. You can be assured that I support only educated and proven resources. While essential oils should not be feared they should be respected and used properly to ensure the safety of the individuals using them.
Please note that I am not a medical practitioner. The content of this website is provided for general informational purposes only and is not intended as, nor should it be considered a substitute for, professional medical advice. Do not use the information on this website for diagnosing or treating any medical or health condition. If you have or suspect you have a medical problem, promptly contact your professional healthcare provider. By using this website, you assume full responsibility and liability for your own actions.
Resources
Do you have brain inflammation? How to know and what to do. (2021, January 20). Retrieved April 24, 2021
How stress affects your brain (in TED-Ed GIFs). (2016, March 14). Retrieved April 24, 2021
