Of course sometimes we worry about money in the day. But we get so busy doing things that we kind of forget about it for awhile. By the end of the day we are so tired we go to bed, only to wake up thinking about how to pay for the kids college, or how to pay for the rent, or how to pay for the car insurance, or whether or not we’ll even have a job in another couple of months. Thoughts like these can cause real anxiety and even panic attacks, and can really ruin sleep.
Someone once said that everything seems more gloomy in the night because being afraid at night made our ancestors stay huddled in their caves—safe from harm. In other words, it is normal for things to seem worse in the night, and it might even be a good thing.
When you are stressed, it is extra important the you follow good sleep habits, such as we post on the Goal of the Can’t Sleep Café. Sometimes people do the opposite—when they are stressed out, they quit all the good habits, and maybe start drinking a little more alcohol before bed, or lying in bed calculating accounts rather than sitting up and reading. Or worse—they go to be extra early because they are stressed, and allow themselves to sleep in late in the morning, since maybe they are a little depressed also. These kind of behaviors are called mal-adaptive, because they actually make sleep worse, both in the short term and in the long term.
Tough times are the times to be sure that you don’t spend excessive amounts of time in bed; that you take care of your body and eat right and drink right; that you set aside extra time for exercise and other relaxing activities; that you double up your Church time, prayer time, or meditation time; that you don’t try to sleep when your mind won’t—get up and do something else—or get up and worry in the kitchen, not the bed. Don’t overuse sleeping pills. Review my main tips on how to sleep better.
Lastly, remember, the stock market goes up and down, but if you get into bad sleep habits now, you might never recover. Enjoy your sleep.
