Sleep Away Stress

Overworked, overscheduled, cramming 48 hours into a 24 hour day. Driven, motivated, and determined. You get up early and stay up late. You drink hard and party regularly. You’re always “on”, always meeting new people, working hard and playing harder.

The perfect life? Perhaps.

But it comes at a price. All the late nights and early mornings take a toll on your body and on your psychology, resulting in feelings of stress. While much has been written about stress, the simplest definition is this: stress is the body’s reaction to very high levels of activity without appropriate rest and relaxation.

While South Asians, generally, don’t have much use for rest or relaxation (how can we, when we’re so driven by our goals?). The fact remains that people who skimp on sleep are significantly more likely to experience stress. High levels of stress, left unchecked, can cause appetite problems, sleep problems, and mood problems. Left unmanaged, stress can lead to hair loss, ulcers, depression and anxiety.

That’s fine, you might be thinking, but how much stress is too much stress? Great question. The answer is, ‘it depends.’ A good rule of thumb is to consider how much time for rest and relaxation you have in a typical week. How much time do you have to rest your mind and your body, preferably at the same time, and not just while you’re sleeping?

If you’re anything like Malaika*, the answer is “less than two hours a week.” Malaika is an attorney in a large firm. She is a wizard at multitasking, and her appointment book is crammed with meetings, client work, and social events. A typical day begins at 5am and doesn’t end until after midnight. While Malaika defines this as living a balanced life- she makes time for work and play; the truth is, really, that Malaika is already demonstrating the beginning signs of burnout (loss of productivity, increased irritability) along with bad skin and stomach problems which might indicate something serious.

In looking over Malaika’s calendar, it was very obvious that she needed to cut out some activities so she could get to bed at a reasonable hour. Do you know that even a loss of about 90 minutes of sleep in one night can lead to a 30-40% decrease in mental acuity and functioning the next day? Imagine how much better Malaika might perform if she regularly got more than four hours of sleep per night?

Despite her misgivings, she agreed to give it a try for three weeks. She ruthlessly cut out almost every extraneous meeting or appointment, and made an agreement with herself that she’d leave work by 7pm on most nights. Rather than heading straight out from work to dinner with her friends, she decided that she’d go to the gym a few nights and get in a workout (also another great stress reducing strategy). Exercising allowed her time to relax and calm down without the pressure of being “on” or having to constantly entertain other people. She found herself feeling more relaxed and found it easier to sleep at night.

After three weeks, she was feeling much better. After four weeks, Malaika was a convert. She had been so stressed for so long that she had forgotten what it was like to actually feel good. She found herself enjoying her work more, being more productive, and being more discriminating about how she spent her free time. She turned down late night social invitations during the work-week, boosted her gym attendance, and slept about 6-7 hours a night, most nights of the week. Her mood improved, her skin cleared up, and her stomach problems subsided. She had more energy, was in a better mood, and felt more hopeful for the future.

All these benefits from just a few more hours of sleep.

As a rule, none of us pay enough attention to good sleep habits; sleep is never as exciting as going to the hottest club, flirting with that gorgeous guy (or girl) and it doesn’t seem to pay us as obvious dividends as staying late at work to impress the boss. It’s not easy to give up these immediate gratifications for a few more hours of sleep.

However, even though it may not be easy to make this kind of lifestyle change, none of us will function well for too long under prolonged stress. While it’s fine, sometimes, to stay up late and get up early, it’s not a long term strategy for success. If you are perpetually stressed, consider applying some of these principles to your own life:

1) Start by going through your calendar and cut out anything that is not absolutely necessary for you to take part in. Defer new commitments for the time being. (You can always pick them back up later, if you really want to.)

2) Boost your level of gentle exercise: walking, yoga, tai chi- anything that doesn’t stress your body or system out any further. Turn off the TV and stay away from the news at night-time.

3) Avoid checking email at night. Studies have shown that the exposure to the lights and radiation from the computer can make your body think it’s time to wake up when it’s really time to go to sleep.

4) Turn off your cell phone and let your calls go to voicemail.

5) Get ready for bed about two hours before you’re ready to sleep. Do whatever it takes to wind down before bed- warm milk, comfy pajamas, a cozy bed. Focus on getting at least 6-7 hours of sleep per night.

Remember, while you might have become accustomed to feeling stressed, stress is not an absolute prerequisite for living a full life. You don’t have to be perpetually stressed in order to succeed. You can be productive, determined, and successful while maintaining good physical health and a positive attitude. Getting good sleep on a regular basis is one way to successfully manage your stress. When you sleep enough, you feel much better. It’s really that simple.