It’s unquestionably a vicious cycle. Debt problems cause stress, which leads to lack of sleep, which leads to more stress, ad infinitum.
From a health perspective, both physically and mentally, sleep is one of the most important aspects of a well-rounded lifestyle. Something as simple as lack of sleep can cause depression, anxiety, weight-gain, and even diabetes; it’s vitally important to ensure that you get enough sleep, leaving you feeling well rested every morning. This becomes even more important when facing something as naturally stressful as debt, but how do you go about breaking the stress/lack of sleep cycle?
First, if debt is causing you stree, explore your options. In Scotland there are several options available to you including a Debt Arrangement Scheme, Trust Deed Scotland and sequestration.
Well, from an insular perspective, lifestyle changes can certainly help. Your whole evening routine may, or may not be lending itself to a good night’s sleep. Ask yourself these key questions for starters: are you relaxing in the evenings? Are you ingesting caffeine or alcohol before bed? Are you attempting to sleep in a dark room with no gadgets or TVs? Have you set yourself a regular bedtime? And are you well hydrated?
All of these things affect your propensity to sleep well. It’s key to be in a relaxes state, avoiding anything that could get your adrenaline pumping for at least two hours before you intend to sleep. Caffeine and alcohol should be avoided where possible. Settle yourself in a dark room, away from TVs, smartphones, Ipads, or anything else distracting; and ensure you attempt to doze off around the same time every night, after having had a few glasses of water that evening.
These tips are simple and effective for people struggling to sleep in general, but the stress brought on by debt may be too much to be negated by simple alterations to your bedtime routine. It’s common for the feeling of helplessness to trigger worry when you should be quietening your mind. Pondering the negative implications of your debt will keep you awake through the night, and like most problems, this won’t go away by itself.
The only way to rectify the situation infallibly is to move away from the helplessness, seek help, and regain control of your situation. By approaching a debt specialist, like Debt Therapy Scotland, a feeling of control can be regained. Although debts don’t disappear overnight, debt specialists will put a personalised repayment structure in place, removing any need for the client to worry over the uncertainty of the future, and begin to enjoy a restful sleep once more.
Debt related stress can make people feel isolated, so it’s hugely important to understand that if you’re going through this type of problem, you’re not alone, and you have nothing to be ashamed of. The situation is rarely as desperate as it may seem, and a debt relief programme is something that countless people in the UK, and all over the world have experienced.
Where things can and do spiral out of control is when people who’re struggling with the lack of sleep brought on by debt related stress keep it to themselves, allowing the problem to fester. It can quickly affect other areas of your life, for example, the tiredness could affect your performance at work, which will hamper your potential to increase your earning power, and ultimately make the debt issue, and your lack of sleep, worse in the long-run.
It’s also very common for the non-disclosure of debt problems to cause fragmented relationships with loved ones in the home. Being afraid to discuss the proverbial elephant in the room can make close relationships strenuous. Tensions rise, and the longer you bury your head in the sand, the harder it can be to make the breakthrough and discuss the problem at hand. This can, and often does, magnify the tension a person is feeling. Where once they were anxious and being kept awake solely by debt, they’d now be worried about personal relationships too.
By seeking help from the professionals, debt problems, no matter how insurmountable they may seem, can be conquered. It’s a simple equation: by adding an element of control with the help of debt specialists, you remove the fear and stress brought on by debt problems. With the weight lifted from your shoulders, a normal evening relaxation regime can resume, and your once elusive deep sleep will be yours to enjoy.