Sleep and stress are closely linked, and both can affect your health and well-being. As a patient advocate, you can help your clients improve their sleep quality and manage their stress levels by providing them with practical tips and resources. In this article, you will learn how to:
The first step is to help your clients identify their current sleep and stress patterns and how they impact their health goals. You can use tools such as sleep diaries, questionnaires, or apps to track their sleep duration, quality, and habits. You can also ask them to rate their stress levels and sources on a regular basis. This will help you and your clients understand their baseline and set realistic and personalized goals for improvement.
Sleep is very fundamental to physical and psychological health-- it is key for memory, concentration, alertness, energy, mood, and much more. There are many things that can disrupt your sleep or worsen sleep quality including coffee after noon, alcohol in late evenings (which causes early morning awakening), work stress, anxiety, rumination, and depression. Keep track of when you're going to bed, how long it takes you to fall asleep, how much you're waking up throughout the night, and how rested you feel in the morning. These are all trackable elements that are important. There are also several wearable devices and apps that can help to keep track of sleep quality overnight.
The next step is to help your clients learn about the positive effects of sleep and stress reduction on their physical, mental, and emotional health. You can share with them evidence-based information on how sleep and stress affect their immune system, metabolism, mood, memory, and more. You can also explain to them how sleep and stress can influence each other, creating a vicious cycle or a virtuous one. By educating your clients on the benefits of sleep and stress reduction, you can motivate them to make changes and prioritize their well-being.
Sleep plays a very important role to keep the mind and the body healthy and active. Inadequate and poor quality of the sleep may lead to fatigue during the day, difficulty in concentrating, cravings, gut related problems like constipation or diarrhea and high levels of cortisol. Mood disorders like anxiety, depressions were reported among people with sleep disorders. It may also play a role in the development of obesity, type-2 diabetes and hypertension. Research reports showed that those who slept an additional hour on their free days to catch-up on the sleep had better blood sugar control. Another report indicated that 'catch-up sleep' helps with controlling inflammation levels that play a role in chronic conditions.
The third step to helping your clients adopt healthy sleep and stress habits is to provide them with general guidelines and specific strategies. Suggest they stick to a regular sleep schedule and routine, avoid caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, and heavy meals close to bedtime, create a comfortable sleeping environment, limit screen time and exposure to blue light before bed, engage in relaxing activities, exercise regularly but not too close to bedtime, and avoid napping unless necessary. If they have signs of sleep disorders such as snoring, apnea, or insomnia, suggest they seek professional help. Additionally, encourage them to identify and avoid or modify their stress triggers, set boundaries and delegate tasks when possible, practice positive self-talk and gratitude, seek social support and connection, use humor and laughter to lighten up, and try different relaxation techniques such as yoga, massage or aromatherapy. If they have signs of anxiety, depression or burnout suggest they seek professional help.
Healthy sleep habits that can be followed for a good quality sleep that have benefited my patients include- 1. Expose to some sunlight during the day. Sunlight set the rhythm of sleep and wake cycle. 2. Include some exercise or activity during the day 3. have a light dinner 2-3 hour before bedtime 4. Keep the bed time consistent 5. Keep the bed room distraction free from TV, laptops, mobiles. Atlease switch them off 1hr before the bedtime 6. Keep the bedroom clean, clutter free and slightly cold 7. Have a shower before bed 8. Read or listen to some soothing music if that helps 9. Cup of warm milk with nutmeg or turmeric helps
The fourth step is to help your clients monitor their progress and provide them with feedback and encouragement. You can use the same tools that you used to assess their sleep and stress needs to measure their changes and outcomes. You can also ask them to rate their satisfaction and confidence with their sleep and stress habits. You can then review their results and celebrate their achievements. You can also identify their challenges and barriers and help them overcome them with problem-solving and coping skills.
The final step is to help your clients access other resources and experts that can support their sleep and stress goals. You can provide them with reliable and relevant information, such as books, websites, podcasts, or videos. You can also refer them to other health professionals, such as sleep specialists, psychologists, counselors, or coaches. You can also connect them with peer support groups, online communities, or wellness programs. By referring your clients to other resources and experts, you can enhance their learning and empowerment.
By following these steps, you can help your clients prioritize sleep and reduce stress and improve their health and well-being. As a patient advocate, you can play a vital role in helping your clients achieve their optimal sleep and stress balance.
Awareness is half the battle. Many of my clients have not taken sleep hygiene and quality as an important aspect of healthy and disease free life. Creating awareness on how sleep plays a role in hormonal balance, metabolism, recovery and detoxification of the body will help them to start thinking about prioritizing sleep quality. Small steps can make big difference. Steps like - Having a bed routine, finishing dinner at-least 2 hours before bedtime, a warm shower , switching off devices, keeping the bed room distraction free can help. Chamomile tea or a cup of warm milk can also help induce sleep. In some cases deficiencies of nutrients like magnesium, hormone melatonin can also be considered in consultation with health care team.