Stress and the Insomnia Nightmare

Did you know that insomnia puts you at risk for serious health problems as well as for chronic anxiety and depression? Not getting a full night’s sleep now and then is common. But if you have chronic trouble getting to and staying asleep you need to do something about it.

But what exactly should you do? Sleep medications provide temporary relief, but not only are they habit forming, they also don’t really give you the kind of sleep you need.

Recent studies have given us a clear idea about what causes insomnia and so real solutions are possible. We’ll consider these studies just up ahead, but before we do, let’s take a closer look at the sleep problems that plague and put millions of people in jeopardy.

No Wonder We’re Tired

The fact is we sleep on average 90 minutes a night less than did our great grandparents. That’s 540 hours less sleep a year than they enjoyed. And we sleep a full two hours less than most people did 150 years ago.

Have you ever noticed that when you’re sleep deprived, you get sick more often? There’s a connection-insomnia leaves you more susceptible to infections because it weakens your immune system. Studies show that when you don’t get enough sleep, the number of the natural killer cells in your peripheral blood system goes down. And the fewer natural killer cells available in your blood, the more susceptible you are to infection.

The evidence is mounting: Getting less sleep than you were “designed for” disrupts the finely balanced system that not only keeps you healthy and energized, but that also sustains your life. For example, not getting enough sleep upsets your hormonal equilibrium and creates conditions similar to early diabetes and rapid aging.

Insomnia and Stress

The rise in insomnia problems has accompanied the rise in stress levels worldwide. The World Health Organization declared stress the #1 health and quality of life in the developed world. Consider this: In these same developed countries, the average night’s sleep has gone from 9 hours to 7.5 hours in the last hundred years. And today many people get far less than 7.5 hours.

If you want sleep better and longer, you need to reduce your stress.

Keep in mind that stress is not just about feeling wired and tired. It’s about the release of stress chemicals into your system, chemicals also known as hormones, such as cortisol and epinephrine.

Here’s the essence of the stress-insomnia story. You’re hard-wired for what’s known as “The Fight or Flight Response”, a survival mechanism that energizes you to fight or flee in the face of life threatening danger. The problem is your hard-wiring is not designed for the complexity and speed of life today.

We’re all too often on edge about work, money and relationships. We’re overscheduled, overworked and bombarded by bad news media reports 24/7. As a result your Fight or Flight Response triggers too often and stress hormones leak into your blood and tissues and linger there. And so your adrenal glands become overactive and depleted. Then you can’t sleep because parts of your mind and body are prepared to run or fight for survival, not lie down and go nighty night.

As Drs. Chrousos and Gold, two Senior National Institute of Health Scientists put it:

“In our modern society, stress…hormones continue to wash through the system in high levels, never leaving. Stress leads to serious health problems”.

And one of these problems is surely insomnia. Let’s look more closely.

Overactive and Tired Adrenals are the Culprit

Studies show that people with chronic insomnia have increased levels of stress hormones in their blood. People who regularly have trouble getting to and staying asleep suffer from persistent around the clock activation of their body’s Fight or Flight Response system with chronically overactive and worn out adrenal glands.

This adrenal gland hyperarousal is a risk factor for both medical and psychological illness and problems. It requires reversal, not medication.

Consider this study reported in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. A group of people with insomnia were compared to a group with no insomnia. Blood was collected ever 30 minutes from members of both groups over a period of 24 hours. The findings: The levels of stress hormones cortisol and ACTH were significantly higher in the insomnia group.

Moreover, the findings were that people with the most severe sleep disturbances secreted the highest amount of stress hormones-especially at night.

In the words of the principal scientist, Dr. Vgontzas.

“This means that insomniacs are experiencing hormonal changes in their bodies, which prevents them from sleeping.”

The study also concluded that increased production of stress hormones in the 24 hour wake/sleep cycle also increases risk for depression, high blood pressure, obesity and osteoporosis.

You Must Deal With the Source of the Problem, Not the Symptom

Too often medical physicians prescribe medication for insomnia. That misses the point. The source of the problem needs to be addressed. And the source is

• stress,
• overactive adrenal glands and
• stress hormones.

The good news is there is a solution. You can sleep well again-if you learn how to do three things:

1. Prevent the unnecessary triggering of your “Fight or Flight Response

2. Support and restore your adrenal glands

3. Flush stress hormones out of your blood and tissues.

You can do this with the right knowledge, tools and training.

When stress hormones get released too often and when they are not cleared out-they seep into your blood and tissues. Once they seep in, it’s hard to flush them out, unless you know how.

Try This Now

Let me share a brief preliminary technique with you here. It’s common as a beginning to many of our MESICS©[1] Training Routines. It’s MESICS Free Release Breathing^TM. This breathing will help shut down your Fight or Flight Response and trigger a stress reducing mechanism in your body. Here’s how you do it.

Take three Free Release Breaths as follows:

• On your “in breath”-breathe in through your nose into your diaphragm

• On your “out breath”-breathe from your diaphragm out through your mouth. Just completely let go

• Don’t walk your breath out-just let it go completely “hhhaaaa”

• On the out breath sigh if you are not in public- “hhhaaa”

• If you are in public-do it quietly and discreetly

• Then tune yourself briefly to the calm, clear state at the end of your out breath. Rest there for about 7 seconds. Then repeat twice more.

• Try to maintain your connection to the calm state at the end of your out breath for as long as possible

This will give you a taste of what we call the “Stress Free State”

“Free Release Breathing” is so powerful because it helps trigger the part of your nervous system that stops the release of stress hormones.

Again, at the end of your out breath, you will feel at ease, calm and clear. Tune yourself to this experience. Once you are familiar with this practice, you can use it to reconnect to this calm, relaxed state of mind. Then, when you’re in a stressful situation, you will be able to deal with it quickly.

The Ultimate Solution to the Insomnia Problem

The ultimate solution to insomnia and to all other stress driven problems is to be able to access the Stress Free State at will. The goal is to stop your overactive adrenals from releasing stress hormones.

And so the following recommendations are merely provisional. They don’t address the source of the problem. But they can be helpful nevertheless.

• Instead of sleep medication, try a natural relaxant such as Gaba. You can find it in a health food store or on the internet.

• Try a Gaba supplement along with a calcium/magnesium supplement 30 minutes before bedtime

• Develop a good exercise program-this will reduce your stress, quiet your adrenals and help you sleep

• Learn techniques to stop worrying-once worry gets you in its grip-it will trigger your Fight or Flight Response-in error. (use the Free Release Breathing and let go of worrisome thoughts). Excessive worry and fretting can keep you drenched in stress hormones

• Don’t drink caffeine after 1 pm

• Don’t eat a lot before you go to bed

• Learn some effective relaxation exercises and techniques, including breathing, meditation and/or yoga

Most importantly–develop a plan to learn how to 1) support and restore your adrenal glands, 2) short-circuit the unnecessary triggering of your Fight or Flight Response and 3) flush stress hormones out of your blood and tissues.

It may sound real complicated, but it isn’t. And it’s well worth the effort. You will sleep well again and live a whole lot better and longer.

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[1] M-E-S-I-C-S is an acronym for the Latin phrase: Mens Sana In Corpore Sano. It means “A Sound Mind in a Healthy Body”. MESICS® translates scientific discoveries into actionable knowledge and combines it with powerful tools and expert support and training-so you can put that knowledge to work for your health and well-being.

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 Dr. Jim Manganiello is an award winning clinical health psychologist, teacher and author. He’s a longtime innovator in the areas of stress, well-being, personal growth and “inner fitness”.

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