Stress can cause changes in sleeping patterns in two ways.  You can either have insomnia or you can sleep too long.

1.  Insomnia   I had and occasionally still have insomnia.  With insomnia, you can either have trouble falling asleep or you can wake up in the middle of the night.  In the dark of the night is when the fears and anxieties creep in to plague and torment you.

I never had trouble falling asleep but I would often wake up in the middle of the night.  If I did wake up, my mind would turn on and flit from thing to thing – usually from problem to problem.     I would toss and turn and plan things to the ‘nth degree. 

I have learned to channel this.  If I wake up after a few hours sleep, that means that my initial sleepiness is gone and I won’t get back to sleep.  So, I usually get up, go into the office and start writing.  My mind is refreshed and alert, the house is quiet and I can concentrate completely on what I’m doing.

The problem with this, though, is that the day comes, with all of its demands and requirements.  If your life and time is flexible, then it doesn’t matter.  You can go to bed when you’re tired.  If it is not flexible; if you have a family to take care of or a job to go to, then you are starting your day tired.  This usually means that you don’t have the energy to cope or function properly.

2.  Sleep Too Long.  This is another way that unrelieved stress can hurt your body.  One of my clients escapes through sleep.  She will often sleep ten to fifteen hours a day.  When you are asleep you don’t have to face the problems.   It doesn’t make the problems go away.  They are there waiting when you wake up – usually with interest.