SOS 3200 Module 5 Lifestyle Paper: Sleep and Physical Activity as Stress Buffers Example

Six Hours and Four Thousand Steps: Rebuilding Sleep and Movement Under Stress

Student Name

B.S. in Health Studies, Thomas Edison State University

SOS-3200: The Management of Stress and Tension

Mentor Name

Month Day, Year

Six Hours and Four Thousand Steps: Rebuilding Sleep and Movement Under Stress

Introduction

In module two I connected my 3 a.m. waking and frequent colds to the stress response. This paper looks at two lifestyle habits that may either buffer stress or add to it: sleep and physical activity. I suspected that I sleep too little and move too little, but I had never measured either.

My Two-Week Log

I used my phone's sleep and step tracking for two weeks, checked it against a written diary and rated my mood every evening from 1, the worst, to 10, the best.

My weekday sleep was well below my weekend sleep, a sign of sleep debt that I tried to repay on Saturdays. My best mood days were those after more than seven hours of sleep and those with a walk.

The Sleep Target

Watson et al. (2015) reported a consensus reached by two professional sleep societies after reviewing the evidence on sleep duration and health. They concluded that adults should, as a rule, sleep for no less than seven hours. Sleeping less than seven hours was associated with weight gain, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, depression, impaired immune function, greater pain, worse performance and more mistakes and accidents. My weekday average falls short of this recommendation by more than an hour.

Sleep, Stress and Immunity

Irwin (2015) reviewed research on sleep from a psychoneuroimmunology perspective. Sleep disturbance and short sleep activate inflammatory pathways, raise markers of inflammation and are linked to greater risk of infection and poorer response to vaccines. Sleep loss also increases sympathetic activity, which connects it with the stress response. The relationship runs both ways: stress disturbs sleep, and poor sleep makes people more reactive to stress. Irwin noted that treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia can improve sleep and reduce inflammation.

This helped me see my winter colds and my 3 a.m. waking as part of one loop: stress shortens my sleep, short sleep raises inflammation and stress reactivity and both leave me more vulnerable.

Physical Activity and Mood

Rebar et al. (2015) combined the results of meta-analyses on physical activity and mental health in adults without a clinical diagnosis. Physical activity reduced depression with a medium effect and anxiety with a small effect. The authors concluded that being active is a reasonable way for the general population to reduce symptoms of both. Exercise also uses the energy the stress response mobilizes and improves sleep quality for many people.

My log shows I am far below common activity guidelines, which call for at least 150 minutes of moderate activity each week. My best evenings followed walks, which fits the research.

Caffeine and Screens

My log also showed habits that work against sleep. I drink a large coffee at 3 p.m. to get through the afternoon and often study on my laptop until midnight. Caffeine can stay active for many hours, and bright screens late at night can delay the body's signals for sleep. Moving my last coffee earlier and finishing screen work by 10 p.m. are small changes that support the bedtime goal.

Moving With My Father

My father's neurologist has encouraged him to walk, since physical activity helps people with Parkinson's disease keep their balance and mobility. Walking together on Saturdays meets both our needs: I get exercise, he gets safe company and we get time that is not about pills or pharmacies. This turns a caregiving duty into something I look forward to, which fits the meaning-focused coping I described in module four.

Barriers

My barriers are time and energy. Between work, my father, my children and my courses, I rarely have an hour free, and by evening I am tired. I also stay up late studying after the house is quiet, which is the main reason my weekday sleep is short. Stress itself makes me want to scroll my phone in bed, which delays sleep.

Goals

Following the evidence and my barriers, I set three goals for the next six weeks. First, I will be in bed by 10:45 p.m. on weeknights, with my phone charging in the kitchen, aiming for seven hours. To make this possible, I will study during my lunch break on two weekdays instead of late at night. Second, I will take a half-hour walk on three or more days a week, using my lunch break on the days I do not study and walking with my father on Saturdays, which gives us time together. Third, I will keep the same wake time on weekends within an hour, to reduce the swing between weekday and weekend sleep. I will track all three with my phone and a weekly check in my journal.

Sleep Hygiene Steps

Alongside the bedtime goal, I will use simple steps that support sleep: a cool, dark room, no caffeine after 2 p.m., a short wind-down routine of reading paper books and writing tomorrow's list before bed. If I am still awake twenty minutes after a 3 a.m. waking, I will get up and read in dim light rather than lie awake.

Checking Progress

At the end of six weeks I will compare a new two-week log with this one, looking at weekday sleep, steps and evening mood. If my weekday sleep reaches seven hours on at least four nights a week, I will count the goal as met.

Limits

Phone trackers estimate sleep and steps imperfectly. The research shows associations and average effects, and my results may differ. Two weeks is a short sample.

Conclusion

My log showed short weekday sleep and little movement, both below what the evidence recommends. Watson and colleagues set the sleep target, Irwin explained how poor sleep and stress feed each other through inflammation and Rebar and colleagues showed that activity reduces anxiety and depression. Earlier bedtimes, regular walks and steady wake times are practical first steps.

References

Irwin, M. R. (2015). Why sleep is important for health: A psychoneuroimmunology perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 66, 143-172. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115205

Rebar, A. L., Stanton, R., Geard, D., Short, C., Duncan, M. J., & Vandelanotte, C. (2015). A meta-meta-analysis of the effect of physical activity on depression and anxiety in non-clinical adult populations. Health Psychology Review, 9(3), 366-378. https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2015.1022901

Watson, N. F., Badr, M. S., Belenky, G., Bliwise, D. L., Buxton, O. M., Buysse, D., Dinges, D. F., Gangwisch, J., Grandner, M. A., Kushida, C., Malhotra, R. K., Martin, J. L., Patel, S. R., Quan, S., & Tasali, E. (2015). Recommended amount of sleep for a healthy adult: A joint consensus statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society. Sleep, 38(6), 843-844. https://doi.org/10.5665/sleep.4716