How To Get Rid Of Morning Anxiety: 8 Simple Steps
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Have you ever woken up in the morning with a voice in your head telling you to worry about different things?
It is that irrefutably real voice that constantly tells you that youre worthless and stupid, and that no matter how hard you try, you are going to mess up all important things.
Does this voice go away? Fortunately, the answer is yes. Morning anxiety the medical term for the condition is Americas silent epidemic , but there are a number of ways you can deal with it. However, these steps require time and patience.
In this article, we will jot down some simple steps that will help you get rid of anxiety and become a happier person.
Side note: One way to reduce anxiety is to build the mindfulness habit. If youre interested to learn more, check out the book to learn how to stop worrying and reduce anxiety.
Accept Dont Fight For Just 10 Minutes
If youre finding that managing morning anxiety is a too difficult with the strategies mentioned, try planned worrying. Give yourself a time limit of 10 minutes to experience worry feelings. When the timer goes off, move on to your self-care strategies. Though you cant expect to simply shut off your anxiety like a timer, this approach allows you to acknowledge your worry, and gives you a concrete time to move on to self-care.
The symptoms of morning anxiety can feel incredibly uncomfortable and overwhelming, but they are highly treatable. When you combine professional treatment along with the self-care strategies listed above, you will experience relief from anxiety, and wake up hopeful and calm.
Face your fears. Live with uncertainty. Take control of your life.
Dr. Theresa Welles
How To Overcome Morning Anxiety
Try the following steps to help reduce feelings of anxiety first thing in the morning:
Give yourself extra time
One of the most effective ways to combat morning anxiety, is to give yourself a little extra time – for example, setting your alarm 10 minutes earlier. This can help you to wake up and avoid the additional stress of having to rush and the potential for worrying about being late.
Sidestep caffeine
Instead of reaching for the coffee, swapping to camomile tea might help too – as stimulants can often exacerbate anxious symptoms.
Pause social media
Avoiding social media first thing may also help if you feel yourself constantly needing to check your feeds, as you may find yourself becoming anxious as a result of social media pressures.
Try mindfulness meditation
Make time to meditate using wellness apps such as Headspace. They can help you to check in with your emotions and thoughts, so you can relax and prepare you for the day ahead.
Boost endorphins with exercise
Make time for yoga or exercise. Yoga can help to channel your energy and help to switch off your fight or flight stress response. Similarly, exercise first thing in the morning can release endorphins to combat low mood or anxiety.
Talk about your worries
If you’re really struggling, it is important to address the underlying reasons for your anxiety. Counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy or talking therapy support through your GP might be beneficial.
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Consider Your Sleep Habits
Getting proper shuteye is extremely important for your mental and physical health. In fact, sleep problems like difficulties falling asleep and/or staying asleep are known to cause a variety of psychological and physical complaints. These include headaches, decreased energy, poor concentration, short-term memory problems, irritability, and anxiety.
Some healthy sleep habits to consider adopting include:
- Avoid stimulating activities two to three hours before bedtime .
- Engage in a relaxing activity before bedtime like curling up with a good book or getting a back rub from your partner.
- Go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every day, including weekends.
- Keep your bedroom cold and dark .
- Use your bed only for sleep and sex.
- Consider journaling or doing a “brain dump” before bed to get any thoughts or worries onto paper so they don’t interfere with falling or staying asleep.
If you find you’re unable to sleep well despite practicing good sleep hygiene, talk with your healthcare provider.
Other Ways To Ease Anxiety In Children
- teach your child to recognise signs of anxiety in themselves
- encourage your child to manage their anxiety and ask for help when they need it
- children of all ages find routines reassuring, so try to stick to regular daily routines where possible
- if your child is anxious because of distressing events, such as a bereavement or separation, look for books or films that will help them to understand their feelings
- if you know a change, such as a house move, is coming up, prepare your child by talking to them about what is going to happen and why
- try not to become overprotective or anxious yourself
- practice simple relaxation techniques with your child, such as taking 3 deep, slow breaths, breathing in for a count of 3 and out for 3. You’ll find more guidance for helping children with anxiety on the Young Minds website
- distraction can be helpful for young children. For example, if they are anxious about going to nursery, play games on the way there, such as seeing who can spot the most red cars
- turn an empty tissue box into a “worry” box. Get your child to write about or draw their worries and “post” them into the box. Then you can sort through the box together at the end of the day or week
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Anxiety In The Morning
Experiencing anxiety in the morning is common. When we first wake up, we are predisposed to anxiety and stress. Morning anxiety, even extreme morning anxiety, has nothing to do with our flaws or weaknesses. It has much to do with our physiology.
It is in the morning that our bodies produce the greatest amount of cortisol . The surge of cortisol happens in order to wake us up. Thats not a problem. The issue is that cortisol also happens to be a stress hormone involved in our fight-or-flight response to danger. The increased production of cortisol contributes to morning anxiety in many people.
Our physiologys involvement in morning anxiety doesnt stop with cortisol. In the morning, we naturally have low blood sugar due to hours without food . Low blood sugar can increase anxiety, and the physical symptoms of hypoglycemia mimic symptoms of a panic attack. If severe morning anxiety has you experiencing anxiety attacks before you even get out of bed, you may actually be experiencing hypoglycemia. Keeping healthy food by your bedside, such as whole grain crackers, unsalted nuts, or granola bars to eat first thing when you awaken can help head off that panicky feeling.
In addition to keeping healthy, energy-inducing snacks handy, there are other ways to get rid of morning anxiety.
Waking Up Stress Cortisol Awakening Response
All living beings follow a natural awake and asleep cycle during a 24-hour period every day.
This natural cycle is controlled by the circadian system also referred to as the internal biological clock.
The Circadian System regulates biological processes and alertness levels in our bodies through a small bunch of neurons, called suprachiasmatic nucleus .
Located deep within our brain, the SCN controls a vast number of biological cycles to regulate our bodys sleep patterns, eating patterns, core body temperature, brain wave activity, and hormone production over a 24-hour period.
It is this internal biological clock that signals your body when to fall asleep and when to wake up depending on how much sleep you need.
The cortisol awakening response is considered to be a crucial function of a healthy circadian rhythm in human beings.
Researchers believe cortisol levels go up between 30 and 45 mins of waking up to keep us awake and prevent us from going back to sleep.
It is this spike in cortisol levels that may determine times during the 24-hour period when we are awake and when we are asleep.
However, studies have shown people with higher stress in their lives to have relatively higher levels of cortisol release during the first hour of waking up, suggesting a more powerful signal by the body to get up and manage the stress expected for the day ahead.
Recommended Reading: What Does Anxiety Feel Like Physically
Drink Plenty Of Water
Not drinking enough water can become a sneaky yet serious issue on a daily basis.
With 60-70% of our body made up of water, it requires little evidence of why dehydration can become a problem. Hormones to nutrients, almost everything is transferred via fluids inside our body, so less fluid consumption leads to bodily dysfunctions.
Dehydration may not cause anxiety directly but it can intensify many different symptoms of anxiety like increased heart rate, dizziness, and muscle fatigue. Apart from these symptoms, dehydration can also lead to gastric disorders, loss of appetite, and nausea. After a prolonged time, the brain may start malfunctioning and can bring on headaches as a symptom.
It is extremely important that you provide your body with the right amount of fluid it needs. Moreover, staying properly hydrated will keep you calm, relaxed, and promote positive emotions.
Tips:
- Measure how much water consumption you need daily. Men require about 3.7 liters and women about 2.7 liters of water intake a day.
- Keep a full bottle in front of you at all times so you dont forget to keep hydrating yourself.
What You Eat For Dinner
There is concrete evidence of the relationship between foods and mental health.
Eating certain foods can trigger stress and anxiety symptoms.
What you eat for dinner can very easily make you prone to increased anxiety and stress if youre not careful. If your dinner meal contains gourmet foods, processed foods, or fast foods , it can trigger anxiety right before you go to sleep at night.
A hyperdrive of anxious thoughts before bed can make falling asleep very difficult with increasing chances of developing insomnia along with a serious impact on sleep quality. All this can eventually contribute to causing morning anxiety when you wake up.
Learn more about the six foods that can make your anxiety worse
Also Check: Is Zoloft For Anxiety Or Depression
Morning Anxiety Causes: What You Should Know
One of the most prominent reasons for morning anxiety may simply be a lack of sleep. A 2016 study of university students, for instance, found a clinically significant relationship between insomnia and sleep disorders and an increased likelihood of anxiety levels.
But information collected by Wake Forest University suggests a more prominent factor in the morning anxiety equation: the stress hormone, cortisol.
In individuals who frequently experience stress, cortisol levels in the body are observably higher in the morning. This could be seen as a benefit in some cases, because people who experience worry often feel a higher degree of control from worrying .
Unfortunately, this cycle can also have severely negative impacts. Ongoing anxiety has the potential to lead to other long-term health issues like migraines, heart disease, ulcers and even things like eyesight issues.
Whats causing the insomnia, the cortisol spikes and the general increase in anxiety may be a variety of things concerns about work, about finances, about family members and loved ones. Anxiety could be caused by fears about the future or intrusive thoughts about the past.
You could be experiencing morning anxiety due to problems with your job, a big project, arguments with a partner or any other situation where heightened stress is a factor.
Why Do I Wake Up With Anxiety
Feeling anxious in the morning is common for people with and without anxiety disorders, says Mayra Mendez, PhD, a licensed psychotherapist.
Although there’s not a lot of research specific to morning anxiety, many mental health practitioners see it in their practice. Oftentimes, putting a name to the condition is helpful.
“Many people are comforted to know there is a syndrome, and that what they are experiencing is not unique to them,” says Moe Gelbart, PhD, the director of Behavioral Health at Torrance Memorial Medical Center.
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Try Working Out Earlier In The Evening
Exercise can be a good relaxation technique, both for anxiety-driven insomniacs and those who experience morning stress. It can exhaust you, guaranteeing better sleep. However, timing is important. “Make sure your more intense workouts arenât too close to bedtime,” suggests the National Sleep Foundation. “If you find that your treadmill runs are keeping you awake at night, hit the gym at least three hours before you turn in.” This gives your body temperature enough time to return from hot to normal, which will help you sleep.
Cut Back On Caffeine And Sugar
Because these are two culprits that often cause physiological responses that mimic anxiety, cutting them out or reducing your intake could help. Look for breakfast foods rich in protein and healthy fats that won’t spike insulin levels, like eggs or a green smoothie, and consider switching your regular latte for a milder form of caffeine, like matcha or tea.
Also Check: Is Panic Disorder An Anxiety Disorder
When Is Anxiety A Problem For Children
Anxiety becomes a problem for children when it starts to get in the way of their everyday life.
If you go into any school at exam time, all the children will be anxious, but some may be so anxious that they don’t manage to get to school that morning.
Severe anxiety like this can harm children’s mental and emotional wellbeing, affecting their self-esteem and confidence. They may become withdrawn and go to great lengths to avoid things or situations that make them feel anxious.
Star The Morning With Gratitude
The way you begin your morning sets the tone for the day, which is why Robin encourages starting the day with gratitude and positivity. Keep a notebook by your bed and write down five things you are grateful for right as you wake up, she says. This can train your brain to focus on positive reframes in the morning versus immediately jumping to worries.
Recommended Reading: How To Treat Social Anxiety Disorder
Tips To Stop Waking Up With Anxiety
The following is a collection of the most effective ways I know to break the habit of morning anxiety.
Dont feel like you need to start doing all of them right away. The first tipstop sleeping inis actually the one Id recommend most people try first. In many cases doing that one thing alone is enough to break the habit of waking up with anxiety.
For others, you might need to try a few different ones and see which apply most to your particular situation. For example, if your morning anxiety seems to be highly related to worries about work and what you need to do during the day, numbers 7, 8, and 9 might be most applicable.