It’s 2 o’clock in the morning and you’re still awake worrying about how you’re going to make ends meet this month. You’re not alone. Canadians have been particularly anxious about finances since 2007, when Lehman Brothers bank collapsed, plunging the world into the worst economic crisis in years.

According to the Holmes and Rahne Stress Scale, the 16th highest stressor is a major change in financial position (good or bad).

In 2012, the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants issued a survey in which 61 percent of respondents said they were worried about money.

Nearly half (47 per cent) of those surveyed wish they spent more time reviewing their finances, and almost a quarter (24 per cent) purchased items they could not afford.

“The survey results sent a clear message,” noted Kevin Dancey, FCA, president and CEO, CICA. “Saving more, spending less and developing a budget and sticking to it will go a long way in providing some peace of mind.”

How Financial Stress Affects Your Sleep: Insomnia’s Physical and Mental Consequences

Prolonged insomnia can have serious repercussions both mentally and physically. Mental clarity and concentration are affected, weight-gain can occur, and your judgement becomes impaired. Death may even occur. In 2007, British Researchers surveyed 10,000 civil servants to see how sleep loss affected their mortality. Over 20 years, they found that those that cut their sleep from 7 to 5 hours or fewer per night doubled their risk of death from all causes. Specifically, lack of sleep doubled the risk of cardiovascular disease.

There are long-term health problems associated with insomnia:

  • Heart disease
  • Heart attack
  • Heart failure
  • Irregular heartbeat
  • High blood pressure
  • Stroke
  • Diabetes

Source

Deal with Your Financial Stress and Get Some Sleep

Seventy-seven percent of those contacted in the CICA survey stated that they have a financial budget in place, but only 32 per cent actually followed their plan. A point of sharp contrast exists within the survey:

Those respondents that stick to their household budget (46 per cent) still experienced some money stress, but that jumped to 65 per cent among those without a budget or occasionally spend beyond their means.

It comes down to this: Planning your finances will take way some of the stress involved and get you a well-deserved good night’s sleep.

How 4 Pillars Can Help

One if the best ways to deal with financial stress is of course to reduce the stress by dealing with the situation. If the financial stress is debt related (high payments, behind on payments, or just too much debt) then of course we can help. Our highly qualified and certified budget/debt counselors can assist you in resolving the debt issues and helping eliminate the stress. Contact 4 Pillars, Debt Victoria, Today for help with your credit repair and debt consolidation.