Sleep recovers our natural flora, both physically as well as psychologically. But how, exactly, does this happen? We know that sleep is important for our general functioning, but what function does it have in stress? How can sleep help with stress? This article explains the link between stress and the different stages of sleep.

The REM-phase and stress: why is it important?

Sleep consists of 4 stages, of which the REM sleep is the phase which comes after the deep sleep. Despite the fact that it comes after deep sleep, we sleep in a more shallow way during REM than we do during the deep sleep. During the REM sleep we are in a state of sleep, which allows us to process things and to charge our battery. In this phase it also often happens that we dream. The function of dreaming and REM-sleep is to process the information which we have come across during the day. It works as some sort of psychological recovery. It makes it so that associations are made in our brain, which makes it so that we find it easier to find solutions to problems. That is why many people say: "Sleep on it.". During the REM sleep and dreaming, some sort of psychological cleansing happens.

Deep sleep and stress: why is it so important?

Deep sleep works in the same way as the REM phase does, but then for our physique. During the deep sleep our body namely works on recovering its physical state, namely through getting rid of fatigue. When we get enough deep sleep, we feel rested. This is also an important part of stress, as stress is caused by hormones and has different physical consequences. The deep sleep thus makes it so that we are physically 'reset' and that we can start a new day without any problems once again!

15 Minutes 4 Me: why is it so important?

In this article we already described why sleep is so important in stress. A consequence of stress, unfortunately, is that we no longer sleep as well or that we can no longer fall asleep as easily. 15 Minutes 4 Me is an online self-help program, which offers daily exercises and videos, so that you can gain new insights. Furthermore, it also offers exercises, which can help you to relax, so that you can get back into a healthier sleep pattern.

Do I have stress?

To measure to what extent stress is present in you, you can take our free stress test. After filling out this test, you get your scores right away!