11 Nov Stress and Sleep: How the Stress Response Disrupts Rest and What the Evidence Shows
You’ve gone to bed. It’s dark, and your brain is playing out what you have to worry about tomorrow.
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Many people suffer from this type of sleep disturbance. This can happen with worries about work, finances or family life. You may feel tired but never feel like your body has shut down.
If you are regularly not getting enough sleep, chronic stress may be one factor. The key is understanding how stress can disrupt sleep, why a lack of sleep can affect you and some things you can do.
What you’ll learn:
- Why Stress Keeps the Body on Alert
- How Poor Sleep and Stress Feed Each Other
- What Recent Research Shows
- Changes That Make Bedtime Less of a Battle
- When Sleep Problems Need Extra Support
- Wrapping It Up
Why Stress Keeps the Body on Alert
The body has a built-in response when it detects that there is a potential threat. You may experience increased heart rate, faster breathing and stiffened muscles.
What happens if you’re under constant pressure?
Constant pressure from stressors can lead to your body feeling like there is danger around you at all times. Stress hormones, including cortisol, are involved in this response. Of course, there can be more that leads to a lack of sleep, and it cannot simply be blamed on high cortisol levels.
Your body can stay in this heightened state of alert when it’s time for bed. You may feel tense, fidget and have thoughts racing through your mind about different stressors. Feeling tired won’t always help you relax.
So it’s important to understand what your stressor is. Having a nice bedroom setup may reduce your level of anxiety, but it won’t fix your stress if you are unhappy at work or have another problem that is consuming your mind. Solace Psychology provides services to help you overcome stress through techniques such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Mindfulness, which can target the way you react to your stressor and may help people manage the way they respond to stress when going to bed.
Stress isn’t the only factor that can contribute to you not getting enough sleep.
How Poor Sleep and Stress Feed Each Other
Once you have had a night of poor sleep, stress can feel overwhelming in your day-to-day life, whether that’s forgetting a conversation, struggling to focus or overreacting to others.
When you know it’s night time, you can feel anxious about sleep once again.
This creates a cycle of stress and not getting enough sleep. If you aren’t able to sleep due to stress, then you may feel like you’re not able to function in daily tasks. You don’t always have to know what caused what.
The stress of trying to sleep can also play a role in not being able to sleep: staring at the clock, wondering how many more hours you can sleep and how you will feel tomorrow.
Your mind can associate your bed with not being able to sleep, and you can feel awake and frustrated in your bed. That is why increasing the time in bed won’t always be beneficial to your sleep.
Look at why you may be staying alert. Is worrying about your sleep causing you to have more stress?
What Recent Research Shows
Stress can come from a number of areas, and work is a big one. According to the latest data from the SHF (Sleep Health Foundation) 2026 Aussie Sleep Snapshot Survey, 36.9% of workers said work-related factors affected their sleep on nights when they did not sleep well.
These figures are self-reported by the participants. Work-related factors could include the number of hours at work or shift work as well, so don’t think it’s all caused by worrying about work.
Australian clinical guidance also distinguishes short-term sleep difficulties from chronic insomnia.
There are many steps you can take if you believe you’re suffering from stress or poor sleep.
Changes That Make Bedtime Less of a Battle
You can implement small changes that may help you feel less stressed at night and allow your body to relax more easily. Try focusing on one area that you may be feeling stressed about and try implementing the following steps.
- Focus on the area that is making you stressed, and jot it down on paper with actions you can take to remedy it. Don’t try to overanalyse why you’re stressed; just make sure you’re not focusing on the stressor before you go to bed.
- Wake up at the same time each day. This can help your body regulate when it’s time to sleep. Try to get up at a similar time each day, rather than repeatedly shifting your sleep schedule.
- Create a sleep environment that allows you to relax, whether that be reading, music or even guided meditations if that suits you. Have something to focus on besides the idea that you must sleep.
- Identify what may be interfering with your sleep. Maybe it’s your coffee consumption, alcohol, background noise or excessive screen time.
- Manage your stress during the day. Maybe work is the area that is keeping you stressed at night. Speak to your employer or manager, or set boundaries that can help alleviate this area of your life.
These steps may help reduce your immediate feelings of tension; however, there may be more factors to address to help you feel less stress during your day.
Experiment with what works for you, and remember it’s not a one-night fix. Don’t feel discouraged if one night you don’t sleep as well as usual. Keep trying.
When Sleep Problems Need Extra Support
Speak to your GP or medical professional if you continue to not sleep well. They can perform an assessment and see what may be causing your lack of sleep. There are some symptoms that can indicate other sleep disorders, such as loud snoring, waking up feeling choked or being extremely sleepy throughout the day.
Try keeping a sleep diary for a couple of days before your appointment: what time you went to sleep, how well you think you slept and any factors that may have contributed to your poor sleep, e.g. drinking coffee, working late at night or a stressful day.
If it’s determined that you may have chronic insomnia, ask your GP whether CBT-I (cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia) can help address anxious thoughts, and what other things you can do to get a good night’s sleep.
If you have been finding it hard to cope with stress during your waking hours, you may benefit from seeking support from a qualified mental health professional. Stress and insomnia can overlap, and it’s important to receive treatment that can address both if they are causing you distress.
Wrapping It Up
Sleep and stress can become a negative cycle. Your body can become alert and find it hard to sleep, and not getting enough sleep can leave you feeling tired the next day. There are simple things that can help your body prepare for sleep. If you’re struggling, speak to a medical professional to help you better understand why you’re not sleeping well.
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Last Updated on November 11, 2026 by Marie Benz MD FAAD