No rest for the stressed
What’s better for muscle pain and headaches than some good old-fashioned shut-eye? Well stress is out here trying to steal that from you, too! The APA explains that in times of stress, a part of the brain called the hypothalamus signals to the pituitary gland that it’s time to send out a hormone that initiates the adrenal gland’s release of cortisol, otherwise known as the stress hormone. Cortisol is designed to give you the sustained energy needed to fight off or flee from any perceived threats.
If you find yourself experiencing insomnia (as well as chronic fatigue as a result of insomnia) there’s a good chance stress and high levels of cortisol are to blame. According to the Mayo Clinic, chronic fatigue and sleep problems like insomnia could present in your mood as feeling overwhelmed which could cause an uptick in tobacco use.
