Home Sleep Wellness Sleep soundly: Managing and reducing financial stress

4 mins.

29 June 2022

Sleep soundly: Managing and reducing financial stress

#stress and sleep #financial stress #sleeping when stressed #sleep wellness #sleep tips

Money problems are one of the biggest concerns for families and individuals in the UK. With inflation surging, petrol prices rising and energy bills soaring, how to make money go the extra mile is something many people are thinking about in recent times. 

These money worries often lead to stress, which affects our mood, productivity, general happiness, and can have a knock-on effect on our work performance and relationships. Financial stress, in particular, can also negatively impact sleep, and the Emma Sleep Barometer has found that, statistically, people with a lower income are more likely to have a worse quality of sleep than those with a higher income. 

When we could be heading for a recession in the UK, it is all the more important to manage our money. Taking control of our stress levels and ensuring that we are having good quality sleep will help us look after our general well-being.

How does financial stress affect your health?

Financial stress was found to have profound, negative effects on physical health in a study on Northern-Irish families facing financial hardship. The study found those facing stress as a result of financial problems have decreased awareness of personal self care, face problems with usual day to day activities, and are subject to psychological health issues. 

People facing issues financially are also much more likely to have poor diets, drink more alcohol and take drugs as a coping mechanism to deal with stress. These vices obviously can impact on physical health, mental health, and can also negatively impact sleep as a result. Poor diet and excessive alcohol intake often leave people unable to sleep when they are tired, and is often the cause of someone's circadian rhythm being knocked off.

The Emma Sleep Barometer has also confirmed that people in lower-income groups are more likely to have their sleep negatively impacted by anxiety. Unfortunately, when our sleep is negatively affected, this can have a knock-on impact on other elements of our lives, and lead to a vicious cycle, where the issues compound one another. Making sure our sleep health is as good as possible can be a step in the right direction for our general well-being.

How can sleep affect my money?

Research has also found that our sleep can directly affect our decision making when it comes to money. A study found that lack of sleep, or sleep disorders, can make the brain  anticipate optimistic outcomes and be less likely to expect negative outcomes. This means that if someone is tired, they could underestimate the amount of risk a decision - like an investment or bet - really has, and they could lose money on something they wouldn’t normally.

In one of these experiments, the researchers used the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), in which subjects choose between decks that vary in the frequency and magnitude of payoffs. If you are interested in checking this type of experimental setup you can check this link. Particularly, one of these experiments clearly showed that sleep-deprived participants persisted in choosing the riskier option, exhibiting a reduced concern for negative consequences. This behaviour had a remarkable similarity to participants with brain damage in the orbitofrontal area.

This shows that it’s even more important to be aware and careful when making decisions if you are tired and to avoid making financial decisions when you are not well-rested. Indeed, as shown above, sleep deprivation can bias the evaluation of economic decisions by bringing an increased attentional bias towards higher-ranked positive outcomes while concurrently reducing the concern for losses. 

How can I sleep with money worries?

With the UK potentially heading for a recession, many people are starting to feel the pinch. It is worth looking for ways to naturally deal with that stress, so we can ensure our moods, and productivity doesn’t suffer.

High stress levels are associated with sleep disturbances and although many people lose sleep over financial stress, there are ways to mitigate the negative feelings, so you can manage to sleep, and the feelings do not take over. We know that lack of sleep can affect our decision-making ability, so ensuring we get enough sleep can help us manage financial difficulties. 

Keep a routine

Those people who wonder how to reduce financial stress should ensure that they do not fall out of their usual habits. The NHS recommends keeping your daily routine as a way to cope with financial stress. Remaining in a good routine is one way to ensure healthy eating and sleeping habits remain in place, which are both key to good physical and mental health.

A bedtime routine is also key for consistent, high quality sleep. Making sure you are well rested is important for productivity and well-being. Furthermore, the data of the Emma Sleep Barometer show how having a consistent sleep schedule increases by 88% the probability of rating your own sleep as great. We all feel better when we are less tired and our mental health can also see benefits, so we are less likely to be as negatively affected when we go through periods of financial stress. 

Stay active

Staying active is a great way to clear your head and put things into perspective. Physical activity can improve your mood if you are feeling down, and social activity can also help improve your mood, so many people will also benefit from group activities. Exercise is widely believed to improve a person's ability to sleep and their sleep quality, which will help to ensure we are feeling better about any problems we may be facing in our lives, be them financial, or otherwise.

Sleep soundly with Emma

Sunrise by Emma is a trusted resource on all things sleep, be that insights on sleep wellness, or reviews of the best sleep products. Our insights are all verified by Emma Sleep Experts, so you can trust us on helping you get the rest you need to awaken your best every morning. Why not also visit the Emma Sleep shop to browse some of the best sleep products on the market?

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