Guest post by Dr.Katherine Hall
Traumatic events can cause a long list of adverse side effects. While some are short-term, others may plague you for years, or even, the rest of your life. Most trauma patients experience stress, anxiety, irritability, and depression as they struggle to cope with their emotional and psychological issues. But what about the relationship between trauma and insomnia?
Sleep disturbances are another common side effect of trauma. Flashbacks and nightmares make it difficult for some people to fall and stay asleep. Depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders triggered by a traumatic event can also negatively impact your sleep patterns.
Insomnia from trauma is more common than you might think. Here, we’ll explore trauma-induced insomnia, including what trauma does to the brain and trauma-focused therapy techniques so you can finally achieve the restorative sleep you need to facilitate the healing process.
Does PTSD Cause Insomnia?
PTSD symptoms come in all forms and severities. Two people faced with the same traumatic event may respond and recover much differently. While some individuals get angry or hostile, others become sad, isolated, and hopeless. Although all of these side effects can trigger insomnia in varying degrees, research suggests that PTSD after a traumatic event can be stimulated by insomnia instead of the other way around.
Individuals who experience significant sleep problems following a traumatic event are at greater risk of developing PTSD in the future. When identifying and diagnosing PTSD, sleep disturbances including nightmares and fragmented REM sleep are some of the earliest warning signs. In many cases, PTSD and insomnia go hand-in-hand. Recurring flashbacks of the event make it difficult to fall asleep, while nightmares wake some people several times a night.
Trauma’s Effect on the Brain and Body
Understanding trauma-induced insomnia starts by looking at what trauma does to the brain and body. When your brain detects a threat, it responds quickly and strongly. This is known as your flight-or-fight response and it’s the same physiological reaction you likely had when faced with a recent trauma. When your brain and body shift into survival mode, your muscles tense, your heart rate increases, and your body is poised for protection.
Related Reading: Why Understanding What Trauma Does to the Brain Helps You Heal
In most healthy people, the body returns to normal once the threat is eliminated. Those who are deeply impacted by the event remain in a state of constant fear. It’s these feelings of hyperarousal and alertness that cause insomnia from trauma. Some people experience a delayed reaction to trauma, with feelings of depression and stress manifesting without warning hours, days, or even months after the event.
How Trauma Affects Sleep
In addition to feeling stuck in flight-or-fight mode, trauma can impact sleep patterns in a variety of ways.
Sleep Architecture
A traumatic event can affect your sleep architecture, which describes how your body moves through different sleep cycles and stages. Of the four sleep stages, REM (rapid eye movement) appears to be the most affected. During REM sleep, brain activity increases, and muscle activity and mobility decrease. Your blood pressure, pulse, and breathing all increase during this stage of sleep.
The REM sleep cycle is critical for processing information and emotions, storing memories, and learning. It’s also the stage of sleep when dreaming occurs. Since traumatic events and PTSD are often accompanied by nightmares and flashbacks, it makes sense that this stage of sleep is often interrupted. Research suggests that these troubling dreams are your brain’s response to trying to integrate and process traumatic experiences and memories. Certain studies also show that achieving quality sleep when coping with trauma can make trauma-related memories less distressing, reducing the risk of developing PTSD.
Related Reading: Will PTSD Go Away Without Treatment?
Insomnia
By definition, insomnia is categorized as persistent problems in falling and staying asleep. Chronic insomnia lasts for three months or more, whereas transient insomnia is more short-term. Most trauma survivors experience trouble sleeping, at least for a short period of time. The overall shock and stress of the situation make it difficult to quiet the mind and body enough for sleep. Even if you do manage to fall asleep, many traumatized people wake frequently due to nightmares and hyperarousal.
Insomnia from trauma, if left untreated, can manifest into other, more serious sleep disorders including nightmare disorder, sleep terrors, REM sleep behavior disorder, and periodic leg movement disorder.
Trauma-Focused Therapy Techniques
Every trauma patient reacts and responds differently to their experience. The relationship between sleep and trauma is complex. Most people struggle to fall asleep following a traumatic event and a lack of sleep puts them at greater risk of developing PTSD. There are a few things you can do to support healthy sleep patterns and reduce nightmares, negative thoughts, and restless nights.
Mindfulness and Meditation
Quieting the mind and reducing negative thoughts and feelings is the first step in relaxing your mind and body enough to sleep. Mindfulness and meditation are two popular and effective ways of doing just that. While meditation focuses on clearing your mind of all thoughts and feelings, mindfulness teaches you to become more aware of your thoughts and feelings in a nonjudgmental way.
Breathing exercises, yoga, and guided imagery can calm your nerves, reduce anxiety, and help you process and work through any negative thoughts and emotions associated with the traumatic event. Therapies such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Yoga Therapy, and somatic therapies like Somatic Experiencing and Dance Movement Therapy can all help you develop skills to help quiet the mind and body.
Practice Good Sleep Hygiene
Sleep hygiene is about adopting healthy sleep habits. This includes creating a relaxing environment for sleep, setting a sleep schedule, and following a consistent sleep routine. Designate your bedroom for sleep and sex only. Invest in comfortable bedding, white noise, and room darkening shades.
Turn off all digital devices at least 1 hour before bed and perform a relaxing ritual. Things like drinking a hot cup of tea, taking a soothing bath, or writing in a journal are all positive ways to relax and signal your brain and body that it’s time for bed. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) can help you further explore the connection between the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors contributing to your insomnia.
Sleep After Trauma is Possible
Traumatic events can impact your life in a number of ways, including how well you sleep. By adopting healthy sleep habits and reducing stress, you can reduce your risk of developing PTSD. You may even ease trauma symptoms including mood swings, anxiety, and irritability. Achieving quality sleep is also important for working through your trauma and processing it in a healthy way.
Dr. Katherine Hall is a Sleep Psychologist who specializes in treating insomnia. She holds degrees with specializations in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia from Kings College in London. She has experience in both public and private sectors in the U.K. and has been the Lead Therapist with Somnus since 2019. With over 13 years of clinical experience, Katherine is dedicated to improving sleep health.
If you’d like help with your trauma or insomnia, and you’re in the northern Illinois area, contact Life Care Wellness. Our licensed therapists can help you on your journey to health. Life Care Wellness has offices in Glen Ellyn, Sycamore, and the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Chicago.
