“When you are angry or stressed, your body releases catecholamines (including adrenaline, noradrenaline, and even dopamine) which are responsible for giving you a burst of energy lasting a few minutes,” explains Dr Lindsay Browning, sleep expert at Trouble Sleeping and author of the self-help book Navigating Sleeplessness.
“These hormones, which are produced in your brain, nerve tissues and adrenal glands, speed up your heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, muscle strength and mental alertness. This may also result in your face becoming flushed red as the blood rushes around your body helping you to be ready to fight.”
Because these hormones are designed to put your body in “a heightened state of alert,” they make it harder to get to sleep, Dr Browning adds.
