The Power of Sleep: Managing Anxiety, Stress, Grief, and Trauma One Night at a Time
Sleep is essential—not just for physical health, but for emotional survival. Yet for people dealing with anxiety, chronic stress, or trauma, getting quality sleep can feel out of reach.
Here’s the truth: better sleep can be a turning point in your healing journey. It improves emotional regulation, reduces anxiety, and helps your brain process trauma more effectively. And even if your sleep has been disrupted for months or years, it can be improved.
🧠 Why Sleep Is Crucial for Mental Health
Ask anyone experiencing stress, anxiety, depression, or just not feeling like themselves how their sleep is and they will easily say that they aren’t getting enough. Sleep disturbances are often a symptom of many psychological disorders and sleep disturbance is a strong signal that our nervous system is overwhelmed. Below are some of the specific links identified between common mental health concerns and sleep.
1. Anxiety and Sleep
Anxiety makes it hard to fall asleep or stay asleep. In turn, sleep deprivation increases worry, rumination, and physical symptoms of anxiety—creating a frustrating cycle.
2. Stress and Sleep
Stress floods your system with cortisol, the "fight-or-flight" hormone. High cortisol at night makes it harder to fall into deep, restorative sleep—leaving you physically and mentally drained.
3. GRIEF and SLEEP
Grief often disrupts sleep, and in turn, poor sleep can intensify the emotional pain of grief. Many people experiencing loss struggle with falling or staying asleep due to racing thoughts, emotional distress, or changes in routine. This lack of rest can make it harder to process grief, leading to heightened sadness, irritability, and fatigue. Supporting healthy sleep habits during times of mourning can help the body and mind cope, offering a foundation for emotional healing.
4. Trauma and Sleep
For people with PTSD or complex trauma, sleep can be haunted by nightmares or disrupted by hypervigilance. But trauma healing requires quality rest—sleep helps regulate emotions and consolidate difficult memories safely.
5. DEPRESSION AND SLEEP
Sleep and depression are closely linked, with each influencing the other in significant ways. Poor sleep—whether it's insomnia, oversleeping, or disrupted sleep patterns—is both a common symptom and a contributing factor in depression. Lack of quality rest can worsen mood, reduce emotional resilience, and make it harder to recover from depressive episodes. On the flip side, improving sleep through therapy, lifestyle changes, or medication can play a key role in managing and even reducing symptoms of depression.
🛌 Sleep Hygiene: 7 Tips for Better Rest
If you are noticing some changes in your sleep, it’s worth checking your sleep hygiene—the daily habits that support good sleep.
Stick to a consistent schedule – Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even weekends.
Use the bed only for sleep (and sex) – No phones, laptops, or TV in bed.
Limit caffeine and alcohol – Especially in the afternoon and evening.
Get morning sunlight – 10–15 minutes of sun early in the day helps set your internal clock.
Create a wind-down routine – Try reading, light stretching, or deep breathing before bed.
Keep your room cool and dark – 60–67°F is ideal for most people.
Avoid napping late in the day – Naps can interfere with nighttime sleep, especially if longer than 30 minutes.
Adapting these habits can improve your sleep quality and restfulness. Remember, when we sleep well, we have energy to play, laugh, spend time with others, spend time doing activities that we love, and feeling like our best selves. We also have the energy to manage stress better.
Bad Sleep or Insomnia?
All of us a have experienced some rough nights where we had trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or getting the quality of sleep that we need to feel rested. However, when our sleepless nights persist, we may be experiencing more than just a few bad nights of sleep and we may have a sleep disorder called Insomnia. Insomnia is a common sleep disorder characterized by difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up too early and not being able to go back to sleep. It can lead to daytime fatigue, difficulty concentrating, mood disturbances, and impaired performance at work or school. Insomnia may be short-term (acute), often triggered by stress or life events, or long-term (chronic), lasting for weeks or more and often linked to underlying health conditions or habits. Effective management typically involves improving sleep hygiene, behavioral therapies, and, in some cases, medication. Treating sleep issues and getting a proper diagnosis of your sleep problems is crucial to supporting your mental health and emotional wellness.
🔍 Quick Insomnia Quiz: Do You Have Symptoms of Insomnia?
Take this short quiz to assess your sleep health.
Over the past two weeks, how often have you:
Had trouble falling asleep (taking 30+ minutes)?
☐ Never (0)
☐ Sometimes (1)
☐ Often (2)
☐ Always (3)
Woken up during the night and couldn’t fall back asleep?
☐ Never (0)
☐ Sometimes (1)
☐ Often (2)
☐ Always (3)
Woken up too early and felt unable to return to sleep?
☐ Never (0)
☐ Sometimes (1)
☐ Often (2)
☐ Always (3)
Felt fatigued or unrefreshed during the day despite enough time in bed?
☐ Never (0)
☐ Sometimes (1)
☐ Often (2)
☐ Always (3)
Worried or stressed about sleep itself?
☐ Never (0)
☐ Sometimes (1)
☐ Often (2)
☐ Always (3)
Scoring: Count up all of your answers and check below to see what they suggest
0–4 "Often" or "Always" answers → You may be experiencing insomnia.
1–2 "Often" or "Always" answers → You may have mild sleep disturbances.
Consider talking with a provider or exploring CBT-I if sleep problems persist.
🧠 CBT-I: The Gold Standard for Insomnia Treatment
If sleep hygiene alone isn’t enough, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is one of the most effective treatments for long-term sleep improvement—especially for people struggling with stress, anxiety, or trauma.
What CBT-I Does:
Identifies and challenges unhelpful sleep thoughts (“I can’t sleep without pills”)
Reduces sleep anxiety and performance pressure
Creates a strong association between bed and sleep
Builds sleep efficiency by restricting time in bed to only when truly sleepy
CBT-I is drug-free, evidence-based, and has lasting effects—often working within 6–8 sessions.
You can find CBT-I through trained therapists, sleep clinics, or even online programs and apps. At Wellpointe, we offer a CBT-I group as well as individual therapy sessions focused on CBT-I and insomnia management.
✅ Your Call to Action: Prioritize Your Sleep Today
Sleep isn’t optional—it’s a pillar of your physical and emotional well-being.
If you’re struggling with insomnia or persistent sleep disruption:
Talk to your doctor or therapist about CBT-I
Check out free tools like the CBT-I Coach App (from the VA/DoD)
Work on your sleep hygiene habits consistently
Seek support if trauma or anxiety is interfering with rest
You can sleep again—and when you do, everything else begins to feel a little more manageable.
📚 Helpful Resources
You don’t need to tough it out alone. Healing starts with rest—and rest starts tonight. Contact Us to discuss options for supporting sleep in your mental health journey.
