Does stress interrupt your sleep?

Lately I’ve been having a tough time at work, there’s too much to do and not enough staff to get it done.

Usually I can cope with the stress of being a nurse, but it’s when I start taking it home that it becomes a problem.

Disrupted sleeping in particular is often the first sign that I’m stressed, especially when I find myself tossing and turning over some menial issues to do with patients and workplace politics.

My husband has tried to help me calm down but I think I need to tackle the issue head on.

Apparently, according to relaxation coach, Andrew Johnson, two-thirds of adults have some form of sleeping problems and most of these are triggered by stress.
At least I’m definitely not alone!

Mr Johnson said now that people are “bombarded with information from the moment they get up until the moment they close their eyes”.

This means “they go to bed at night and what they may have missed during the day – what they might not have had chance to process – then starts coming to the front of their minds”.

These worries could be all sorts from money concerns to health issues, but in my case it’s almost always work related.

I can’t escape from emails and the internet at work, but I think I’m going to try and slow down my reliance on technology when I get home.

So that means turning off my work phone, ignoring my emails in the evening and spending time with my husband and our two cats.

There are lots of books I need to catch up on and even just chilling out on the couch with a good radio play and a glass of wine could be the perfect antidote to my hectic days.

Hopefully learning to leave work at work when I can will improve my sleep, but we’ll have to see!

How do you unwind after work?

Posted by Margo Hunter