The link between stress and sleep disorders

My reaction to stress is to fall asleep. About ten times a day. I have narcolepsy and stress, for me, is the biggest contributing trigger to my cycle of episodes of narcolepsy. So I know that there is a relationship between stress and sleep disorders, at least in my case.

Stress is a part of everyday life. A certain amount of stress is healthy. It keeps us going, alert and focused on the job we need to get done. It’s when we cross that line, the stress line shall we say, that stress becomes bad and the body starts reacting accordingly. The biggest link between stress and a sleep disorder would have to be insomnia, something suffered by millions of people, who flock to their doctors looking for a cure. Often, even after the stress is gone the insomnia remains because poor sleeping habits have become the norm for the person and it becomes a vicious circle.

In order for people to cope with the stresses of everyday life they need an adequate amount of sleep. Most sleep disorders will leave you feeling sluggish, tired and cranky exacerbating the stress in your life. You can do all of the things such as exercise, deep breathing, no caffeine after 4:00 pm, have sex all night long (but then who would care if you had a sleep disorder?), read, etc. but the fact remains, if you have a pre-existing condition, such as a sleep disorder stress is going to make it worse. So treat the sleep disorder, find ways to lessen the stress and I wish you all a good night’s sleep.