Sleeplessness strikes almost everyone from time to time. In times of stress, we may not be able to leave our rushed, worried, nervous, or fearful thoughts at the foot of the bed at night. Reduced sleep or difficulty sleeping (insomnia) is considered a problem if it interferes with your life.
Our sleep rhythms and rituals get disrupted by lots of different stresses. New jobs or changing shifts, traveling long distances, anxiety over a test… the list could go on and on. There are actually several forms of insomnia, too, depending on when and for how long you can't get to sleep.
If you have any of the symptoms of insomnia, including being unable to sleep at night or waking too early in the morning and being unable to get back to sleep, you may need to find treatment or change some lifestyle habits. To prevent further sleeplessness, you can try to develop a bedtime ritual, cut out the caffeine, and get some exercise during the day.
The amount of sleep that you need changes at different stages of life, but if you're not getting enough, dealing with stress can become even more difficult.