Visualize Things That Make You Happy
Instead of lying in bed worrying and thinking about stressful things, visualize a place that makes you feel happy and calm.
In one insomnia study, participants were able to fall asleep faster after they were instructed to use an imagery distraction .
This technique helped them occupy their mind with good thoughts instead of engaging with worries and concerns during the pre-sleep time.
Picturing and concentrating on an environment that makes you feel peaceful and relaxed can take your mind away from the thoughts that keep you up at night .
It Might Sound Strange But Its Actually A Good Idea To Designate Worry Time
Rachel Hershenberg, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at Emory University and author of Activating Happiness, advises taking 20 minutes a day to write down all the negative thoughts swimming in your head that tend to pop up later at night.
Just dont save this activity for before bedtime, when its more likely to get you mentally worked up. Instead, have worry time earlier in the day, when you dont have the room in your brain to focus on your anxieties. You can also keep your worry time completely unstructuredjournaling, drawing, whatever works for you.
After a couple of weeks of worry time, Hershenberg predicts that youll start to see two themes in your journaling: solvable problems and total unknowns.
Solvable problems are things you can do something about. By listing them, you can better plan and anticipate, and youll feel a little more in control, she says. Then theres stuff you feel nervous or apprehensive about because theyre total uncertainties. This is when you can gently validate that fearfor example, by telling yourself, Yeah, it makes total sense that I feel scared because I dont know what my boss is going to say tomorrow. But I did everything I could, and Im just going to go in there and listen.’
How Can I Calm My Anxiety Without Medication
Here are eight simple and effective ways to battle anxiety without medication. Shout it out. Talking to a trusted friend is one way to cope with anxiety. Get moving. Break up with caffeine. Give yourself a bedtime. Feel OK saying no. Dont skip meals. Give yourself an exit strategy. Live in the moment.
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Tips Tricks & Strategies To Fall Asleep Fast
Ever get tired of sleeping? Of course not because sleep is awesome and quality sleep is extraordinarily awesome! .
As you sleep, your body is repairing itself, energy is restored, tissue grows and repairs, hormones are regulated, and memories are stored away safely. 50-70 million US adults suffer a sleep disorder such as snoring, insomnia, and sleep apnea, etc. which leads to stressful days from lack of energy.
Reaching for the caffeine to cure a bad nights rest or taking pharmaceuticals when you cant sleep, could cause more harm in the long run. Difficulty falling sleep is a common ailment but there are many holistic remedies available to help. Lets discover how to fall asleep fast and naturally.
Difficulty falling asleep can occur for many reasons, anxiety and depression is a major cause of insomnia
How To Minimize Anxiety And Maximize Sleep
To get to sleep more easily, you can try changing some of your pre-sleep habits to decrease your mental and physical stress levels. Habit-changing takes time and persistence, but if you stick to these changes, you will find yourself adapting and feeling less anxious overall in no time.
Avoiding the anxiety that keeps you from getting the sleep you need can be difficult, but following the above all-natural and healthy techniques may be all that you require taking back control over your sleep schedule.
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How To Use ‘scheduled Worry Time’
For example, if you have a major project due at work in two weeks, this may cause you to have increased stress. It may seem insurmountable. There is no way you can get it all done. You dont even know where to begin. This stress can be incapacitating.
Rather than being overwhelmed, break it down into manageable chunksand then get to work. Make these items components of the action plan: review the files, speak with your coworker, schedule a meeting, draft the proposal, and finalize the presentation.
As you accomplish the tasks day by day, you cross them off. Eventually, the stressor itself can be removed from the list.
There may be some items on the list that have no obvious resolution. This may cause additional anxiety and zap your energy throughout the day. Tell yourself that you have to let it go. Come back to it tomorrow.
Perhaps things will change and by then you will have a plan that will help you to move forward. In the meanwhile, focus your efforts on the things that you can change.
If thoughts related to the stress present themselves at night, you respond by simply telling yourself, I dont need to think about this right now. I will think about it tomorrow during my scheduled worry time. I can address it then. This can shut down the stream of thoughts and allow you to get to sleep.
Tell Yourself To Stay Awake
Also called paradoxical intention, telling yourself to stay awake may be a good way to fall asleep faster.
For people especially those with insomnia trying to sleep can increase performance anxiety.
Research has found that people who practiced paradoxical intention fell asleep faster than those who didnt. If you often find yourself stressed out about trying to sleep, this method may be more effective than traditional, intentional breathing practices.
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Does Anxiety Go Away
For those people that are diagnosed with a legitimate anxiety disorder, the condition is unlikely to go away. Some people may be able to better control their anxiety disorder with the help and guidance of a therapist or psychologist, and medications may help further control the condition. There may also be specific coping mechanisms to help manage anxiety disorders, however, a permanent cure for anxiety does not currently exist.
For those that do not suffer from an anxiety disorder, but only have occasional or intermittent anxiety from time-to-time, this is normal and healthy behavior for many people. Temporary anxiety is likely to diminish over time, and if it is related to a specific place or person, removing yourself from those situations may help the anxiety go away after some time.
How Can I Overcome Anxiety At Bedtime
If anxiety or disrupted sleep occurs often in your day-to-day life, these simple strategies can help you relax your body and mind and ease yourself into sleep. Changing your pre-sleep habits takes time and patience, but adapting to these changes may help you fall asleep with less sleep anxiety over time.
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Causes Of Racing Thoughts And Insomnia
Insomnia can occur in anyone, given the right circumstances. Particularly during periods of stress or anxiety, difficulty falling or staying asleep may manifest.
Sleep occurs best when stressors and preoccupations do not flood our thoughts. These worries are activating and make it hard to get to sleep. This may seem like something that is beyond your control, but its not.
Racing thoughts can manifest in a variety of ways. Some people describe it as a movie that plays in their mind at night, images quickly flash past in their consciousness while they lie awake with their eyes closed.
Sometimes it is experienced as part of rumination. To understand rumination, imagine a cow that slowly and persistently chews on its cudfood is regurgitated from its stomach to be re-chewed and swallowed. When its not properly taken care of, it comes up again.
Similarly, sources of stress or anxiety may come to your mind to be revisited, rehashed, and processed again. Perhaps theres no evident solution, and after being suppressed temporarily, it comes back to the forefront of your thoughts, especially during quiet times at night.
Although racing thoughts may be thought to occur only among people with anxiety disorders, this isnt necessarily the case. Again, given the right situation, stress may contribute to its occurrence even among those who do not identify themselves as feeling anxious or even worried.
Relieving Anxiety That Keeps You From Falling Or Staying Asleep
If sleep worries are getting in the way of your ability to unwind at night, the following strategies may help. The goal is to train your body to associate the bed with sleep and nothing elseespecially not frustration and anxiety.
Use the bedroom only for sleeping and sex. With many of us working from home now, it can be difficult to avoid, but if possible dont work, use your computer, or watch TV in your bedroom. The goal is to associate the bedroom with sleep alone, so that your brain and body get a strong signal that its time to nod off when you get into bed.
Move bedroom clocks out of view. Anxiously watching the minutes tick by when you cant sleepknowing that youre going to be exhausted when the alarm goes offis a surefire recipe for insomnia. You can use an alarm, but make sure you cant see the time when youre in bed.
Get out of bed when you cant sleep. Dont try to force yourself to sleep. Tossing and turning only amps up your anxiety. Get up, leave the bedroom, and do something relaxing, such as reading, meditating, or taking a bath. When youre sleepy, go back to bed.
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How To Get Rid Of Anxiety So You Can Sleep Better
If youre struggling to fall asleep due to anxiety, it could be that treating the anxiety will help solve your insomnia and lack of sleep as well. Anxiety disorders should only be diagnosed by a licensed therapist or medical professional, and these professionals can also help you find treatment regimens as well as, potentially, medications to control the condition. You should not try to self-medicate for anxiety disorders, and should only medicate per the medical advice and supervision of a psychiatrist.
Therapy
One of the most common and effective treatments for anxiety disorders is continued and guided therapy with a professional counselor or therapist.
The branch of therapy known as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can be effective for many people, as it helps patients suffering from anxiety disorders create new, positive thought pathways that can help when in anxious situations. There are three different types of CBT, each with an individualized approach in treatment, including interpersonal therapy, thought records, and modern exposure therapy.
Another form of therapy is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, also known as ACT. This form of therapy is more focused on mindfulness training and taking action based on personal values, and is unique in that it is not focused on symptom reduction.
Mindfulness
Shifting Your Perspective
Why Does My Anxiety Get Worse At Night
The bottom line. There are many reasons why your anxiety may be worse at night. Daily stressors, poor sleep habits, and other health conditions can lead to increased anxiety and panic attacks at night. However, there are many treatments available that can help ease your anxiety and improve your quality of sleep.
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When To See A Doctor
If you continue to have trouble falling asleep after making sleep hygiene adjustments, consider seeing a doctor. Also, visit your doctor if you feel you are falling asleep too quickly and experiencing excessive daytime sleepiness despite attaining adequate sleep each night. Your doctor can ask questions, order tests, and help determine what is at the root of your sleep issues and how to properly treat the situation.
Transform Your Room Into A Sanctuary For Sleep
Here are five tips for transforming your bedroom to promote better sleep:
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How Long Can Anxiety Last
Anxiety attacks typically last no more than 30 minutes, with the symptoms reaching their most intense at about halfway through the attack. Anxiety can build up for hours or even days before the actual attack so it is important to take note of factors that contribute to anxiety to effectively prevent or treat them.
Other Ways Of Getting To Sleep
There are drugs that can help initiate sleep, but there may be drawbacks if a drug is how you fall asleep fast. Sleep medication may have side effects like grogginess during the day after use. Furthermore, many prescription sleep medications can be habit-forming, and you could risk developing a dependence on them. Requiring prescription medications in order to get to sleep isnt a very good long-term method for how to fall asleep fast.
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To Do Or Worry Journal
I strongly recommend to have a worry or to do journal where you can unload everything you are worried about and everything that need to be done. This helps you release the information from your mind and get it out of your head so that it no longer can impede on your quality of sleep.
Even if the worry is about something tiny, write it down before you go to bed and dont give the worry another thought until morning.
Get A Mattress Of The Right Firmness
There is no one size fits all for mattress firmness. Different people, depending on sleep position, activity level, body mechanics, age, and other factors will sleep better on different levels of firmness or softness of a mattress. If you want to get the best nights rest, the best mattress is the one that matches your body type and sleep style.
Thats why Amerisleep offers five different types of mattresses. The AS1 is the firmest mattress ideal for stomach and back sleepers who want the firmest feel. The AS5 is the softest mattress thats ideal for side and combo sleepers who put more pressure on their hips and shoulders.
Looking for something in between? The AS3 is the perfect balance of firm and soft that supports your body, no matter which position you sleep in. The AS3 is also a good choice for couples with slightly different firmness preferences.
Finally, we wanted to make sure our customers could try our mattresses risk-free. Thats why we offer a 100-night sleep trial where you can try any of our mattresses in your own home for 100 nights.
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