How Trauma Impacts Your Sleep Sleep is one of the most important components of health. You may notice when you get poor quality or not enough sleep that it leaves you tired, cranky and less sharp. With constant disruptions to your sleep and/or trouble with getting enough sleep, your health is at risk. Sleep is vital to your preparedness and survival as a Warfighter. Even one night of poor sleep can have immediate negative health consequences, such as decreased concentration and poor memory. Sleep Cycle Stage 1: Non-rapid eye movement (NREM) N1 lasts 1-7 minutes. Stage 2: NREM N2 lasts 10-25 minutes. Stage 3: NREM N3 lasts 20-40 minutes. Stage 4: REM lasts 10-60 minutes. Trauma can change how your body moves through the four stages of the sleep cycle. On average, sleep cycles last 90 minutes each. Everyone is different, so the length of each stage and cycle varies per person. Healthy sleep occurs when a person moves through these stages and experiences at least 7 hours of sleep cycles. These stages are important because they allow the brain to rest and develop. If you have endured trauma, both sleep stages and sleep cycles can be negatively impacted. When your sleep is disrupted, you are at increased risk for sleep disorders and negative health responses. Research has shown trauma likely has the biggest impact on REM sleep (Stage 4), which is responsible for storing memories and processing emotions. You also experience vivid dreams during REM sleep. After a traumatic event, you may notice more distressing dreams, nightmares or a reexperiencing of your traumatic experience. Negative Impact of Trauma on Sleep Sleep is one of the foundational elements of a healthy life. If you’ve experienced trauma, you may have difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. This impacts how much quality sleep you are able to get in a 24-hour period. Without enough quality sleep, you are at increased risk for multiple health conditions, as well, including hypertension (high blood pressure), type 2 diabetes, obesity, depression, heart attack, and stroke. Though trauma can have negative effects on your sleep, getting enough quality sleep after a traumatic event is extremely important for limiting negative mental health effects, including reducing trauma-related memories. Think of it as when your brain rests, your body and mind are able to properly recover. Your risk of developing sleep conditions such as insomnia and sleep apnea increases with trauma. Learn more about how Sleep Is Important to Your Functioning. Tips for Sleeping After Trauma Getting enough quality sleep can be difficult during and after trauma. Though general guidelines of 7-9 hours per 24-hour cycle may be hard to achieve, there are ways to help reach the recommended amount. All of these tips are suggestions for you to implement if possible. Keep a consistent sleep schedule. Sleep in a safe environment. Do things you enjoy before bed, including relaxing activities like reading, stretching, or listening to music. Don’t force sleep if it is difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep. Seek professional help – reach out to your health care provider, chaplain, or command leadership. For more tips, check out the Sleep Hygiene webpage. Slips and Relapse If you slip up, give yourself grace. It happens! Identify why and how you slipped up, then adjust your quit plan as needed. Think of your quit plan as a living document that you can edit and improve as you move forward. Review your reasons for quitting and your commitment. Lean on your support system to help you get back on track. You got this! For more information, check out the Slips Versus Relapse webpage. Additional ResourcesMilitary OneSource ReferencesSleep Foundation - “Trauma and Sleep”Sleep Foundation - “Stages of Sleep: What Happens in a Sleep Cycle”National Library of Medicine - “REM sleep in acutely traumatized individuals and interventions for the secondary prevention of post-traumatic stress disorder.”National Academies - “Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation: An Unmet Public Health Problem”National Library of Medicine - “Effects of Sleep after Experimental Trauma on Intrusive Emotional Memories”
