By Katie Deeser-

We see stress in our everyday lives, whether its at work, school, or at home. Stress is normally caused by a negative situation that generally makes you unhappy, or anything that puts high demands on you could definitely be stressful as well. People have all different kinds of ways of relieving their stress, some are good ways and some are not so good ways. Two good ways would be exercise or just generally relaxing.

Summer Culp, a student at Wadsworth High, says “I sleep when I’m stressed out. I don’t like to exercise because that would just get me more hyped up and more liable to snap on somebody if they tried to talk to me especially when I’m stressed. When I sleep it’s pretty much like a reboot for me.”

High stress levels can indeed make sleeping more difficult for a person and cause sleeping disorders. Do not try and force yourself to sleep when stressed if you are not tired. If you are stressed out before bedtime there is more likely a chance that it will be harder for you to fall asleep, if your stress levels are low it should be easier to fall asleep for a good night’s rest. It would be best to let yourself sit and calm for an hour before bedtime just to relax your body making it easier to fall asleep. Though sleeping because of stress can lead to unwanted disorders, there are some good things about it also. Sleep is a powerful stress reducer. Following a regular sleep routine calms and restores the body, improves concentration, regulates mood, and sharpens judgment and decision making.

The best kind of exercise to reduce stress is aerobic exercise. Examples could be running, dancing, spinning, and roller skating. These kind of exercises along with others as well increase your heart rate and when that happens your body releases endorphins, or chemicals in your brain that are basically natural non harmful painkillers. Exercise can also help improve the quality of your good nights rest and can reduce the effects of anxiety.