How To Ease Anxiety At Night

Read But Not On Your Phone

Getting lost a book is beneficial for many reasons, and it can be pivotal to sleep health.

Reading is a great way to quiet your mind and distract yourself from any anxious thoughts that might creep up at night. When you are engaged in a story, your thoughts are in the moment, instead of worrying about the future, says Dr. Sal Raichbach, a licensed clinical social worker at Ambrosia Treatment Center. On the other hand, the blue light emitted from cell phones does the opposite. Even if you turn down the brightness, blue light from LED screens interferes with the production of essential brain chemicals like melatonin that tell your body it’s time for bed.

Pick up a real book, and I recommend from extensive experience with insomnia, that you pick the densest, dullest tome in your collection.

Resolve Your Senior Dog Anxiety At Night

It is essential to adopt ways to reduce anxiety in your senior dog. It is because when your dog stays restless and anxious for a prolonged period of time, it can have a significant impact on its health.

You might be noticing issues such as your older dog whining at night or your old dog panting and pacing at night. All these anxiety symptoms such be noticed in the beginning stages itself before the problem gets too worse.

Before beginning any kind of treatment to resolve anxiety issues, it is important to contact your vet to rule out any possible health conditions that are triggering anxiety in your senior friend. It can be heart disease or kidney disease or any kind of cancer. As there are a list of old dog problems that can be causing anxiety in them, it is important to identify if any serious health problem is the root cause.

If there exists no serious health problem, you can resolve its anxiety which is mostly caused due to behavioural issues and age-related problems. Have a look at the 6 ways you can resolve the anxiety issues

Why Does It Happen At Night

Anxiety is a normal human emotion characterized by feelings of nervousness and worry. You may find yourself experiencing anxiety during stressful situations, such as a first date or job interview.

Sometimes, though, anxiety may linger around for longer than usual. When this happens, it can interfere with your daily and nightly life.

One of the most common times when people experience anxiety is at night. Many clinical trials have found that sleep deprivation can be a trigger for anxiety. Historically, research also suggests anxiety disorders are associated with reduced sleep quality.

Treating your nighttime anxiety and addressing your sleep issues are important steps in improving your quality of life.

There are many symptoms of anxiety. Everyone experiences anxiety differently. Symptoms can happen anytime of the day, morning, or night. Common symptoms of anxiety include:

• feelings of nervousness, restlessness, or worry
• trouble falling asleep or staying asleep
• gastrointestinal problems

Another symptom a person with anxiety may also experience is a panic attack. A panic attack is an episode of extreme and intense fear, often accompanied by physical manifestations. The common symptoms of a panic attack include:

• a sense of impending doom
• increased heart rate and chest pains
• shortness of breath and throat tightness
• sweating, chills, and hot flashes
• dizziness or lightheadedness
• a feeling of detachment, or like nothing is real

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Do I Need Treatment For Anxiety

Thereâs a lot you can do on your own to relieve anxiety, but sometimes you need help. Psychotherapy and medication are the two main treatments for anxiety disorders.

Signs that itâs time to talk to a mental health professional include:

• Constant or nearly constant anxiety
• Anxiety that gets in the way of your daily activities, like work or social life
• Anxiety about things that donât actually threaten you
• Panic attacks

Check your health insurance policy to see what mental health services your plan covers. Then, review a list of your in-network providers to find one to connect with.

âYou donât want to add to your anxiety by paying big out-of-pocket fees,â Kissen says.

Your primary care doctor may also be able to recommend a mental health professional with experience treating anxiety and anxiety disorders.

Rosmarin notes that itâs important to find a provider you click with and trust. He also says therapy doesnât need to go on indefinitely to be effective.

âA course of cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety may be eight to 10 sessions,â he says. âThereâs also data to suggest that people feel substantially better after just one therapy session for panic disorder.â

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If You Just Cant Fall Asleep Get Out Of Bed

If the anxious thoughts just wont quiet down, the experts recommend physically getting out of your bed and moving to a different location in your house.

Dont make bed a place of feeling trapped, Kazez says, and Oexman agrees. You want to avoid associating your bedroom with not being able to sleep. If you cant sleep after being awake in bed for longer than 20 minutes, get up and leave the bedroom.

Once you leave your bed, settle on a comfortable couch or chair with the lights dim. From there, you can read, write, listen to music, or practice breathing exercises or gentle yoga until you feel tired again. When you feel sleepy, head back to your bed and try again.

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Sleepless Nights Try Stress Relief Techniques

In a recent national survey, 44 percent of adults said stress had causedsleepless nights at least once in the previous month. All that tossing,turning and staring at the ceiling can leave you feeling tired andmore stressed the next day. If youre caught in this vicious cycle ofanxiety and insomnia, theres good news: Simple stress relief techniquescan help you sleep better and feel calmer.

How To Reduce Anxiety At Night: Our Familys Personal Experience

Needless to say we have tried many, many things in our attempt to get more sleep in our household, and I want to take the time to lay it all out and share what weve learned: the good, the bad, and in-between.

The good news? There are definitely some excellent, non-pharmaceutical options that often help. It often takes trial and error, but if you find the thing that works for you, its so worth it!

For each of the tools that I list below Ill explain what they are and how they are theorized to work, followed by my personal take and experience.

Youll notice as you read through them that some of these are more potent as an in-the-moment trick while others are more powerful when used over time to nudge the bodys natural mechanisms back to functionality.

Ill be honest with you its difficult to break out of the modern pill for every ill mindset where we expect instant results after popping a pill . Nevertheless, its worth checking ourselves in this regard, and being open-minded about a synergistic, slow, long-term approach that supports the intricate functioning of the human body.

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Anxiety Due To A New Environment

Your senior dog may not be comfortable in a new environment or around new persons. Moving your dog to a new place or exposing your dog to new people can trigger sudden anxiety and aggression in them. Remember your dog is not the same little puppy which gets excited for new things and for new persons. Your doggy friend is a senior now.

Even though your dog might have a friendly nature, it may not prefer new people and new surroundings in its old age. Any new kind of sounds and noises can also cause anxiety in your dog and they may turn into noise phobias for your dog.

This may not happen in dogs that have lost their hearing ability, but it generally happens in senior dogs which still can hear well.

Treatments For Nighttime Anxiety

While coping strategies like improving sleep hygiene and creating bedtime rituals may help, you might also find it helpful to work with a therapist, says Peterson.

Some people also find relief with anxiety medication, she adds. You can talk with your doctor to determine if medication is the right option.

However, treatment for anxiety depends on the individual. What works for you may be entirely different from what works for someone else.

Also Check: Is There Different Types Of Anxiety

The Conventional Approach Falls Short With Insomnia & Anxiety At Night

As a layperson with a passion for health, one of my biggest frustrations with the conventional philosophy in Western medicine is their unwillingness to look at the big picture. In general most health & wellness complaints are treated as single, isolated problems.

This leads our healthcare to be both reactive and surface level .

Im really thankful that I decided to start digging in and asking questions over a decade ago, which continues to this day.

In my experience, most conventional doctors offer just two options for a patient with anxiety at night and sleep trouble:

• 1) Do nothing, or tell you to try relaxing
• 2) Pharmaceutical medications

In reality, there are SO many other options to try.

Symptoms That Your Senior Dog Behaviour Is Anxious

As your doggy friend cannot explain to you that he is anxious, you have to understand whether it is anxious or not just by observation. Anxiety in senior dogs can include some common symptoms such as

1. Excessive panting and lip licking

2. Shaking and acting nervous

3. Aggression towards others and other dogs

4. Restlessness

5. Excessive licking and biting themselves

6. Pacing

9. Destructive behaviour and barking excessively

10. Urinating and defecating in the house

All these symptoms may not be exhibited by every dog. The presence of these symptoms depends upon the individual dog and its levels of anxiety.

Also Check: Is There Medication For Anxiety

When Is A Dog A Senior

Older dogs are called senior dogs, but what age is considered old for a dog?

Actually, there is no exact age when a dog becomes a senior because different breeds have different lifespans.

For example, Large breeds like Great Dane can be considered a senior when it reaches 6 years of age, whereas small breed like chihuahua becomes senior only when it reaches 10. I live with labradors and a labrador is likely to become a senior when it reaches 7 years of age approximately.

Hence roughly, consider your dog to be a senior when it reaches the last quarter of its lifespan.

Try A White Noise Machine To Help You Fall Asleep

A low level of constant noise can be useful for distracting your anxious mind, shifting the focus away from troubling thoughts to the constant noise produced from a white noise machine. A simple fan also does the trick as does a sleep app on your phone. Just make sure that the volume is quite low barely audible to keep sound in the background.

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How Common Are Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders are the most common type of mental illness, affecting the lives of around 20% of American adults and 25% of teenagers each year.

Not all people with anxiety disorders have the same degree of symptoms or impact from anxiety on their everyday life. In one large survey, around 43% of adults described having mild impairment of their life from anxiety. Around 33% said it was moderate, and nearly 23% said it was severe.

Get A Bed That Fits You

When you sleep on an uncomfortable mattress, pressure points build up on your body, causing you to toss and turn. A supportive mattress and pillow provide support to the contours of your body and neck, and keep you cool and comfortable for sleep.

For drool-worthy sleep at a price point that wont break the bank, you may want to check out the Casper Original Mattress. Engineered for cool, comfortable sleep, the Casper Original provides targeted layers of support and unique cooling perforations so you can spend less time counting sheep and more time catching Zs.

If youre looking for that sleeping-on-a-cloud experience, the Casper Nova Hybrid may be the right option for you. As our most plush mattress yet, the Casper Nova provides sturdy support with a luxuriously soft top layer so you can sleep worry-free.

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What Causes Anxiety Before Sleep

According to clinical psychologist Emily Knott, Anxiety before bedtime often takes the form of a phenomenon referred to in psychology as pre-sleep arousal.

Knott says that pre-sleep arousal may cause the body and nervous system to enter a state of heightened awareness that may take the form of problem-solving, thinking about your own thoughts, focusing on stimuli in the environment such as noise and light, and ruminating about the consequences of not being able to sleep.

While there hasnt been extensive research conducted on sleep and anxiety, there are a few reasons why your anxiety may be worse at night. Here are possible causes.

What Causes Nighttime Anxiety

A range of factors may cause or contribute to anxiety, including genetic factors, levels of certain chemicals in your brain, stress and your environment.

Researchers believe that certain traits and events may increase your risk of developing anxiety at some point in life. Common risk factors for anxiety include:

• Exposure to stressful or negative events during your early childhood or adulthood

• Certain childhood personality traits, such as shyness or inhibition

• A family history of anxiety or other mental illnesses

• Physical health issues, such as heart arrhythmias or thyroid problems

Unlike generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder and other types of anxiety, feeling anxious at night isnt recognized by the medical community as a specific class of anxiety.

With this said, several factors may make you feel more anxious at night, or make your anxiety symptoms more noticeable. These may include:

• Fears or concerns about the upcoming day, such as worries about your schedule, an important event or a demanding workload.

• Worries about not being able to fall asleep, or the effects that lack of sleep might have on your health and physical function the next day.

• Caffeine consumption during the day, particularly if youve consumed a lot of caffeine during the afternoon or evening.

• Health anxiety .

Some anxiety disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder , are closely associated with nighttime anxiety and insomnia.

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