What Triggers Night Anxiety
Its dark and everything seems tragic when its dark.
Then you worry about not getting enough sleep again and the cycle continues until its 5 AM and youve slept only 2 hours the entire night.
You may also experience hideous dreams that make no sense at all. You wake up feeling awful. You just know that youre going to be a wreck again tomorrow.
A surefire way to ruin your entire day too, right?
Why? What keeps triggering these night anxiety attacks especially when youre in bed at night?
The relative isolation, quiet, and absence of distractions are probably the most important factors here.
During the day, we can use a variety of strategies to modulate these concerns, including taking direct action to address them.
Lying in bed in a dark room, they become overwhelming and inescapable.
Anxiety Disorders And Sleep
For some people, the feelings of stress and worry are persistent and overwhelming due to an anxiety disorder. People with anxiety disorders can also experience sleep disruptions or lack of sleep and might even have insomnia or another sleep disorder at the same time.¹
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health condition in the U.S., affecting over 40 million adults. Several types are associated with sleep disruptions, which can then worsen anxiety-related symptoms:
- Generalized anxiety disorder: This is a persistent and chronic feeling of restlessness, agitation, and difficulty concentrating, the periods of which can last for months or more. Insomnia and other sleep disorders frequently accompany this condition.
- Panic disorder: This causes recurring, unexpected panic attackssudden bouts of fear, increased heart rate, and other physical symptoms.¹ People with this condition can experience panic attacks at night, which can wake them up or affect their ability to fall asleep.¹¹
- Post-traumatic stress disorder : This anxiety disorder can develop after a traumatic event or situation in which there was grave physical harm. Insomnia and nightmares causing interrupted sleep are typical symptoms of PTSD.¹²
Chinese Medicine Remedies For Anxiety
Eastern remedies for anxiety focus heavily on adaptogenic compounds that support your bodys response to stress. Adaptogens do just what their name implieshelp your body adapt! Here are some of my Eastern remedy favorites for combating anxiety:
- Reishi mushroom
Ayurvedic medicine suggests calming the Vata dosha, which may be out of balance and trigger anxiety.
An imbalance in Vata craves a stable routine, such as waking and going to bed at roughly the same times each day. Be consistent with relaxing rituals such as meditation or yoga practices, and try to be consistent with mealtimes from day to day.
Spending time in nature is also inherently harmonizing for Vata.
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Set An Intention Early
Many of us go from one activity to the next throughout our day without really considering how we are feeling, let alone how we would like to feel. For example, do you ever come home after a long day of work and think to yourself, I really want to relax and enjoy this evening?
Most likely you are far too busy or preoccupied to stop and ponder how you want your evening to be. However, by setting an intention early, you are more likely to get the results you want.
If you remind yourself each day that you are determined to have a peaceful evening, you are more likely to actually experience it that way.
Remembering to set an intention is easier when you mark a certain point in your day for it. For example, while driving home from work, you may be going over in your mind all the stress that you went through that day.
At a certain point during your drive home, such as when you drive over a certain bridge or pass a particular landmark, you can set the intention to let go of work stress from that point forward and enjoy the rest of your evening. Another option can be to set an alarm that reminds you to set your intention for a nice evening.
Regardless of what type of prompt works for you, get in the habit of setting your personal objective of how you want to feel each evening.
Set Aside Time For Winding Down
If youve been struggling with sleep anxiety, Dr. Fran Walfish, family and relationship psychotherapist, suggests creating a routine that winds you down and gets you in the mood for sleep. This can include things like dimming the lights, listening to calming music, or taking a warm bath.
Walfish also suggests opting for activities like light reading in place of a TV or computer, as using a screen can tend to rev up anxiety and excitatory thresholds versus relax and calm you down.
The best nighttime routine allows your mind and body time to slow down before you turn off the lights. Allot at least 30 minutes to take a bath, read a book, listen to a podcast, or play quiet music. These transition rituals can condition your brain to associate certain actions with preparing for sleep.
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Can Dogs Sense Evil
They also have a superb knack of sensing things such as illness, emotions, and goodness or evilness. Many dogs show their ability to sense good or evil when they meet a new person. Even if the person puts on an act and makes out that they are good, if they are evil, dogs can work this out with ease.
More Sleep Less Anxiety
Diagnosing and treating crippling anxiety and anxiety disorders should be handled by a physician or other healthcare provider. But anyone can take steps to improve sleep hygiene and adopt relaxation techniques that make it easier to calm down and fall asleep.
And you donât have to go it alone! The RISE app will help you track your progress toward lowering your sleep debt, set up reminders for sleep hygiene habits, and guide you through relaxation techniques to help you ease into dreamland. Because when it comes to having the energy you need to win the day, there is no substitute for sleep!
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How Can Healthier Sleep Habits Treat Sleep Anxiety
Sleep habits, or sleep hygiene, are your routines around bedtime that can affect your sleep. Your healthcare provider may ask you to keep a sleep diary for several weeks. This is a daily log of your sleep habits. It can help identify things that might make it harder for you to fall asleep or stay asleep.
Some common ways to improve your sleep hygiene include:
- Avoid drinking lots of fluids before bed, especially alcohol.
- Do relaxing activities before bed, such as meditation or listening to soft, peaceful music.
- Dont consume caffeine in the late afternoon or evening.
- Dont go to bed unless you feel sleepy.
- Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.
- If you dont fall asleep within 20 minutes, get out of bed.
- Make sure your bedroom is comfortable, quiet and softly lit.
- Only use your bed for sleep and sex. For example, avoid watching television or doing work in bed.
- Set a goal of getting at least seven hours of sleep every night.
- Stop using electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime.
- Try not to eat right before bedtime. If youre hungry, have a light snack and not a big meal.
Distract Yourself From Anxious Thoughts
One way to cope with nighttime anxiety is to distract yourself from your anxious thoughts. This can be done by reading a book, watching a movie, or listening to calming music.
It may also be helpful to journal before bedtime. If you suffer from anxiety disorders, writing down your thoughts and concerns can help you get them out of your head and make it easier for you to sleep.
The best way to cope with your nighttime anxiety is to not worry about falling asleep but focus on relaxing your mind and body.
If you find yourself lying in bed awake and anxious, getting up and doing something calming may be helpful. This could involve reading, journaling, or listening to music. Itâs important to avoid any activities triggering and worsening your anxiety, such as watching television or browsing the internet.
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Practice Good Sleep Hygiene
Dr. Nikki Lacherza-Drew, licensed psychologist and owner of Vici Psychological Care, suggests engaging in proper sleep hygiene to help get better sleep. Lacherza-Drew says, If you have a routine and engage in appropriate sleep hygiene on a consistent basis, your mind will be less likely to go down the rabbit hole of anxious thoughts.
Sleep hygiene refers to various habits that are necessary for good sleep quality. To practice good sleep hygiene, Lacherza-Drew suggests:
- No major physical activity or heavy meals close to bedtime
- No caffeine or alcohol near bedtime or after a certain time in the afternoon
Other easy ways to practice good sleep hygiene include:
- Soaking up the morning sun
- Limiting power naps to 20 minutes
- Keeping your bedroom dark and cool
- Following a consistent bedtime routine
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.
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What Is Anxiety Doing To Your Body
Simply defined, anxiety is the anticipation of a future threat. Itâs different from fear, which is defined as an emotional response to an imminent threat. In other words, fear is a response to a known or understood threat, while anxiety is usually about an unknown or poorly defined threat, something that may or may not happen in the future.
Both fear and anxiety can trigger your bodyâs stress response. Also known as the fight, flight, or freeze response, itâs a physiological reaction to something your body has perceived as a threat.
In response to a threat, your adrenal glands pump extra adrenaline and cortisol â hormones that trigger the release of blood sugar and fat into your blood â giving you a boost of energy. These hormones also increase your heart rate and blood pressure to help more blood reach your muscles, heart, and other organs so that youâll be ready to fight or run away from whatever is threatening you. In your brain, the extra oxygen sharpens your senses and increases alertness.
From an evolutionary perspective, itâs easy to see how the bodyâs stress response would be critical to our survival as a species. Whether it was a saber-toothed tiger or an attack from a rival tribe, our prehistoric ancestors had plenty to fear as they fought to survive another day.
But you don’t have to have a clinically diagnosed anxiety disorder to feel the effects of chronic stress, especially when it disrupts your sleep.
Unwind With A Relaxing Nighttime Routine
Just as slowing your car down before you slam on the brakes can make it easier to come to a stop, mental deceleration before bedtime can make it easier to fall asleep. Setting aside time to unwind and relax at the end of the evening can help keep anxiety at bay and make the transition into sleep as smooth as possible. Here are some tips for a sleep-friendly nighttime routine:
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Treatment For Anxiety At Night
Getting good quality sleep is so important for a healthy and happy life it impacts on everything from your physical and mental health to your career and relationships. Creating positive sleep habits can begin with discovering relaxation techniques like breathing exercises. These are even available to download as an app on your phone, so you can learn the principles of meditation from the comfort of your own home.
Wind down by taking a warm bath before bed and ensure that your bedroom is a haven of calm. We are all addicted to our phones these days. Implement a no-electronics rule in the evening and make a conscious effort to use the time to re-charge yourself and not just your phone.
You can also invest in some blackout blinds or curtains for your bedroom to keep it dark. Your body interprets light as a signal to wake up, so blocking out any street lights or early morning sunshine may help you stay asleep longer.
Make sure you exercise regularly, because exercise will help in two ways. First, it helps combat anxiety by boosting your mood and reducing stress. Second, being physically tired will help you sleep better and make you less likely to suffer from disturbances like restless legs syndrome or sleep apnea.
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Why Is My Dog Restless At Night All Of A Sudden
Many dogs can develop a lot of pent-up energy, and when they do not get enough exercise during the day, this could cause them to become restless at night. So while a walk or two around the block to go to the bathroom is some activity, it likely may not be enough to expel their energy, particularly if the dog is larger.
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Sleep Anxiety Tips: How To Calm Anxiety At Night
*This article is for general information purposes only and is not intended as medical or other professional advice. Visit the links within the text for sources. Casper has not independently verified the sources. While some of us may toss and turn some nights, every night can be a restless night for others. If youve ever struggled with sleep anxiety, you know the feeling of anxiously watching the clock as you worry about not being able to fall asleep and waking up sleep-deprived the next day. There are many statistics that reveal Americans struggle to sleep on a regular basis. As it turns out, anxiety and sleep are connected in a number of ways. Fifty percent of those who are sleep-deprived say that their anxiety impacts their ability to sleep at night. Its important to understand how anxiety can affect your ability to get a good nights rest. This guide covers what sleep anxiety is, the effects of anxiety-induced sleep deprivation, and science-backed tips for decreasing anxious thoughts, as well as how to set yourself up for better sleep.
Use A Weighted Blanket
Weighted blankets are a type of heavy blanket that typically weighs between 5 and 30 pounds. Theyre known for producing calming effects by mimicking the feeling of a hug using deep pressure stimulation. Because weighted blankets can help increase serotonin and melatonin while decreasing cortisol, they have been shown to promote feelings of calmness and peacefulness.
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Can Dogs Sense A Good Person
Signs of a Dog Sensing a Good Person. Dogs can sense when someone is a bad or good person. Your dog may not know the moral decisions a person has made, but he can pick up on signs of nervousness, fear, anger, and danger. Dogs notice specific things about humans that even other humans are not aware of.
Limit Caffeine And Other Stimulants
For many people, cutting out caffeine from their diet can be very difficult, but caffeine can greatly hamper your ability to fall asleep. Additionally, as a stimulant, caffeine can make your anxiety much more pronounced, and you may have a difficult time calming down if you drink excessive amounts of coffee.
It could also be getting in the way of you achieving a good nights sleep. Try avoiding caffeine at least four to five hours prior to when you want to go to bed.
If you know of any other forms of stimulants that you may be taking, try avoiding those at least a few hours before bedtime, as well.
Additionally, some recent studies, such as one conducted by Harvard Health, have come to find that blue light can keep the brain active, stimulated, and awake, as it suppresses the secretion of the hormone melatonin. This is the hormone responsible for helping you fall asleep, so try avoiding blue light, or wearing amber glasses to suppress the effects of the light, at least two hours prior to bedtime.
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What Is Anxiety What Are Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety is a feeling of worry and unease. Its normal to experience anxiety occasionally in response to fearful or stressful situations.
In anxiety disorders, this distress becomes excessive. Fears are not proportional to the situation, and worrying interferes with everyday life. These feelings become persistent, occurring most days for a period of six months or more.
You May Have Less To Do During The Day Which Can Give You More Time To Focus On Anxiety
Its also worth noting that some people may experience increased anxiety at night because they have less to do during the day.
This can give them more time to focus on their anxious thoughts and worry about things that are bothering them. If this is the case, it may be helpful to find ways to occupy your time during the day.
This can include things like taking up a new hobby, exercising, or spending time with friends and family.
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Get Rid Of Your Clock
Clocks can be a common trigger for anxiety, especially when youre trying to fall asleep. Instead of having a clock by your bedside where you can glance at it every time you struggle to fall asleep keep a clock outside your room instead. Looking at the clock will only cause your anxiety to get worse, so avoid it altogether.