Body in stress, brain in a fog: how to recover if you haven't slept because of shelling

Sirens at night, waking up in panic, fatigue that doesn't go away – a familiar reality for many Ukrainians. At night, the body is as if on alert, the brain can't "turn off", and in the morning – fog in the head, fatigue in the body and irritability without reason.

If you are familiar with these feelings after nighttime anxiety or shelling, you are not alone. Sleep disturbances are one of the most common reactions to stress, and they cannot be ignored. LIGA.net spoke with neurologist, psychotherapist, and member of the Ukrainian Institute of Mental Health, Olga Hlins'ka, and psychologist, certified Gestalt therapist, Yevgenia Yegorova:

• How does the body react to chronic lack of sleep?
• What happens to the brain and psyche?
• How to talk to loved ones and family members when you are stressed?
• What can be done to recover even in unstable conditions?

The impact of nighttime anxiety on sleep, memory, and concentration: what you need to know

Nighttime sirens, explosions, and the constant anticipation of danger activate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which increases cortisol and adrenaline levels and leads to chronic stress, explains neurologist Olga Glinska to LIGA.net.