Sleep and stress are very closely interrelated, however, most of the people strive to enhance sleep without even considering the stress that overtakes their lives. The nervous system is in a protective mode when the stress has not been solved and it is always ready to do something. In this state, the body does not permit sleep entirely since sleep is a sign of vulnerability. That is why people can be physically exhausted but mentally active when they go to sleep at night.

The nervous system system works using safety and danger signals. During the day, the sympathetic nervous system is used due to the work pressure, emotional conflict, digital overload, and continuous decision-making. To the extent that this activation goes on into the evening, the body does not get a message that it is safe to rest. It is necessary that sleep involves the input of the parasympathetic nervous system, and this transition is not possible immediately without a rest.

The hormonal balance is one of the central issues with sleep in stress. Cortisol helps in energy and alertness yet it is supposed to reduce in the evening. Stress probably prevents melatonin release when cortisol remains high. This leads to an imbalance in which the body is too exhausted to get into deep sleep. This disproportion eventually results in insomnia, numerous wake-ups, and unrestorative sleep.

Mental stress is usually taken to bed without saying. Cognitions of either uncompleted tasks, future duties or other personal issues will trigger problem solving parts of the brain. These thoughts are processed by the brain as indicators that it needs to be done rather than to be resting. The mind is not closed and the lights are off still, which makes the mind active. It is in this way that stress is among the best predictors of trouble falling asleep.

Physical stress is also important but not as obvious. Poor posture, sitting long hours, shallow breathing and muscle tension signal as a background of constant stress. The body when in a tense condition sends feedback to the brain that they are not safe to have a deep rest. Tigher physical tension can be relieved by small movements, slow stretching or slow breathing, which reestablishes this signal and makes the body ready to go to sleep.

REM sleep which is the mode involved in emotional processing is highly influenced by emotional stress. REM sleep is disturbed when an individual is under extreme emotional stress. This will not allow an individual to have adequate emotional control and will cause the individual to experience mood instability and increased sensitivity to stress the next day. Consequently, stress and low sleep perpetuate one another in a vicious circle, which is hard to break unless a person is conscious of it.

The daytime stress recovery is another aspect of sleep health that is the most neglected. Sleeping is one of the assumptions made to think that it is sufficient to restore the body, yet, this is far-fetched when the body is subjected to hours of stress. Even minor recoveries throughout the day will lessen the overall burden of stress that an individual has to bear in the evening. Even simple stops can enable the nervous system to reset to some degree, therefore, the nighttime rest becomes easier.

Lack of predictability is another factor, which leads to stress related sleep problems. The nervous system is on the alert when timing is hectic and that the demands are endless. The structure achieved by planning, prioritizing, and boundaries minimizes uncertainty. This allows the brain to diminish alertness when it is aware of what to expect and this helps in making evenings more relaxed and sleeping of high quality.

Evening shifts are extremely important in stress recovery. Passing the stage of high activity to bed does not allow the nervous system to relax. Slow changes that cause a decrease in stimulation enable the body to change between action and rest. It is a transition period that is important in the natural activation of sleep supporting processes.

Repeated stress conditions the system to be on guard even in the safe surroundings. The body loses the ability to relax completely with time. To turn this trend back needs more of consistency than intensity. There is rest retraining through repeated calm experience which re-establishes confidence in sleep. This is a slow process that is very efficient.

The quality of sleep is enhanced naturally when it does not focus on treating it as a nighttime issue but treats stress as an origin. Sleep is a natural process rather than something that has to be fought against when there is a feeling of a balanced nervous system during the day. Relaxation is not an option of sleep, it is an imperative. The nervous system of a person is not fighting sleep, it is permitting sleep to occur, when it is calm.