Sleep and Stress

For students, getting enough sleep can be difficult. We may lay awake not able to get to sleep. We may feel exhausted, but our thoughts are racing and we cannot stop thinking about what we need to do. There may be a party we want to go to, or we may have long lists of assignments to complete. Sleep is essential to relaxation, and when we get enough sleep, our perceived levels of stress tend to drop. Insomnia can lead to lack of energy, irritability, poor performance, memory difficulties, concentration problems, and a compromised immune system.

Fortunately, there are things we can do to improve our sleep habits. Learning to have good "sleep hygiene" will help improve the quality of our sleep. Sleep hygiene refers to our sleeping habits, particularly to controlling environmental and behavioral factors related to sleep. Working on improving our sleep hygiene can help us get more restful, regular sleep, which can help decrease stress symptoms and increase our ability to use the relaxation response.Some of the items on the list may not work for you, but trying to make small changes to improve your sleep hygiene will help improve your quality of sleep.
*Sleep hygiene list found here

Visualization

We have all used visualization at some time. We are visualizing when we daydream, recall memories, dream, think, or use our inner dialogue to “talk” to ourselves about things. Visualization for relaxation means utilizing the magic of one’s imagination to allow the brain to calm, and the body to relax. Visualization can also help you create a safe and relaxing place in your mind when you need a break from a stressful situation.

Visualization is effective for many stress-related and physical illnesses including headaches, muscle spasms, anxiety, chronic pain, and insomnia (by clearing away stressful thoughts and allowing the mind to calm sufficiently to enter a deeper, restorative state of sleep). To make visualization more successful you should remember to utilize all of your senses: taste, touch, sight, smell, and sound. The more detail you add, the more real your mental image becomes, and thus the deeper and quicker you will relax.

The best time to practice visualization is when you can focus without interruptions. Decide on what kind of visualization you are going to practice, such as re-creating a memory of a time and place when you remember feeling stress-free and very relaxed. It could be a memory of a vacation at the ocean, camping, hiking, fishing, a cabin in the mountains, a day at the lake, a special Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends, a wonderful Christmas morning with family seated around the tree opening gifts, even a memory of lying back on the grass of your childhood home and watching the clouds floating by. The more vivid you make your visualization (by using your 5 senses), the more you increase the likelihood of once again feeling the good emotions associated with that memory – which will deepen your relaxation and sense of well-being.