Have you ever slept for eight hours and woken up feeling as though you haven’t rested at all? Or found yourself wanting to sleep excessively whenever life becomes emotionally overwhelming? These experiences are sometimes described as stress sleep, although the term is not a formal medical diagnosis. It broadly refers to changes in sleeping patterns associated with psychological stress.

Stress affects people differently. Some struggle to fall asleep, wake repeatedly, or experience racing thoughts at night. Others feel unusually sleepy and use sleep to withdraw temporarily from overwhelming emotions. Delnna Rrajesh, Psychotherapist, Spiritual Healer, numerologist, and relationship breakthrough coach, says, “The important distinction is that sleeping and feeling restored are not always the same thing.”

“When we experience stress, the body’s alerting systems become more active.…