Hard to Sleep Due to Stress? Here are 2 Techniques to Calm Your Mind that You Can Try

Illustration of a person sleeping (Pexels/Ivan S)

JAKARTA - Difficulty sleeping is often experienced by people who are under stress. This will make the body more tired because the mind continues to work, which ultimately causes various health disorders.

"If the stress response continues to be active, the body never returns to its normal state. Stress and sleepless nights are closely related," said Johns Hopkins Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program Director, Luis F. Buenaver, PhD, C.B.S.M, quoted by Johns Hopkins Medicine, on Friday, January 23, 2026.

Therefore, it is very important to relieve stress first so that you can sleep well. According to Buenaver, activities that can activate the body's natural relaxation response can improve mood.

"The way it works is by lowering the release of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline, as well as slowing the heart rate and breathing. The body and mind also become calmer," he said.

There are two techniques to calm the mind that can help relieve stress so you can sleep well. The two techniques are gentle breathing techniques and progressive muscle relaxation, with this way to do it.

Soft Breathing Technique

- In a quiet place, sit or lie down in a comfortable position, closing your eyes can help.

- Slowly inhale and exhale for about five minutes. When inhaling, direct the breath to the stomach and focus on breathing.

- If you want, repeat this sentence in your heart "When I breathe in I am calm, when I breathe out I am able to face it".

Progressive Muscle Relaxation Technique

- In a quiet place, sit or lie down comfortably.

- Take a few gentle breaths, inhale, and exhale.

- Start by tightening the muscle groups one by one while breathing. Hold the tension you feel when you breathe in, then release it when you breathe out.

- Take a few breaths while feeling and enjoying the feeling of relaxation in each muscle group.

- Then feel every muscle starting from the muscles in the head, neck, and face. Then continue to the shoulders, hands and arms, back, stomach, buttocks, thighs, calves, to the feet.

- Repeat on the body parts that are still tense.

Buenaver said that when performing these two techniques, it is important to feel the difference between tense and relaxed conditions. This is useful for you to recognize tension so that you can overcome it well.

"When doing this exercise, feel the difference between tense and relaxed conditions so that you can recognize the remaining tension and do something to overcome it," continued Buenaver.