Sleep & Stress

The Nervous System Connection

Stress and sleep are deeply connected. Stress disrupts sleep, and lack of sleep increases stress—a cycle that can feel hard to interrupt.

The Science of Sleep and Stress

• Sleep helps regulate cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone

• Poor sleep keeps the nervous system in a heightened state

• Quality sleep supports parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) activation

Sleep is one of the most effective tools for nervous system regulation.

3 Ways Sleep Reduces Stress (That Might Surprise You)

1. Sleep increases emotional tolerance
   Stressors feel more manageable when rested.

2. Sleep improves body awareness
   Fatigue dulls signals of hunger, stress, and overload.

3. Sleep supports faster recovery from stress
   The body repairs and recalibrates during rest.

Journal Prompts

• How does stress show up in my body when I am tired?

• What helps signal safety and calm before sleep?

• How could sleep become part of my stress-care plan?

Research Sources

These sources support the nervous system connection between sleep, cortisol, and stress regulation:

• Meerlo, P., et al. (2008).
  Sleep Restriction Alters the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Stress Axis
  — Explains cortisol dysregulation due to poor sleep

• Goldstein, A. N., & Walker, M. P. (2014).
  The Role of Sleep in Emotional Brain Function
  — Demonstrates how sleep supports emotional resilience

• National Sleep Foundation
  Sleep and Stress
  — Accessible summaries of physiological mechanisms

Recommended Further Reading

• Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers by Robert Sapolsky

• The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk (sleep-related sections)