Getting better sleep with anxiety
Is it anxiety that’s keeping you from sleeping, or lack of sleep keeping you feeling anxious?
It’s tricky, because it can be both!
How can sleep affect anxiety?
Our human bodies thrive on homeostasis. It’s the state of being when our bodies are perfectly content as far as health, nutrition, hydration, rest, movement, temperature, and other internal processes go. It’s when our bodies are content and not needing anything immediately.
When you have a lack of sleep, your body gets pulled out of that content place and one of the things that can happen is that you become more vulnerable to your emotions. If you’re an anxious person, a lack of sleep could lead you to get anxious even more quickly or feel that anxiety even more intensely. Kind of like when hunger leads to people to have shorter tempers and get angry more quickly. Now hanger becoming such a commonly used phrase!
The tricky part is that because anxiety is often a high-energy emotion and activates our body in many ways (increased heart rate, rapid breathing, increased body temperature, etc), it can actually end up keeping us awake longer or prevent us from staying asleep all night.
Why is anxiety worse at night?
During the day you have 101 distractions available at any given moment. The buzzing of an incoming text or work email, the music or TV show you have on in the background, your partner asking you where their keys are, the to-do list you’re running through over and over in your head as you scurry around the house to check off all the boxes.
But when bedtime comes and all of that slows down or stops, it’s just you and your thoughts…anxious thoughts. If you’re an overthinker, your brain starts going down all the spirals possible. If you’re a perfectionist, your brain starts nit-picking all the things you didn’t get 100% right and shaming you for them. If you’ve been struggling with imposter syndrome, your brain starts naming all the ways your colleagues and leadership are going to figure out that you don’t know “enough.” It's a prime opportunity for those worries, fears, and dreads, to come center stage. Don’t worry though, there’s some pointers later on to help with this!
If you’ve been having trouble sleeping, you may notice some additional sleep-related anxiety. This is when worries about falling asleep or getting enough sleep keep your brain active and prevent you from sleeping. It can become a vicious cycle, and may benefit from talking with a therapist, sleep specialist, or doctor.
How is sleep important for mental health?
Sleep is the body’s time to repair and restore your brain. Your body’s need for sleep is just as necessary as its need for food and water every day. Without sleep, your brain isn’t able to restore in all the ways it needs so you can function optimally throughout the day.
How many hours of sleep is healthy?
The average adult needs between 7-9 hours of sleep each night. You might be able to get by on less, but you may notice positive changes if you can adjust your schedule to allow for the amount of time your body needs.
How do I start getting better sleep?
Human brains really like routines. It’s how some people are able to wake up for work at the same time everyday without an alarm clock. Having a set bedtime and routine helps your body to know when it’s time to fall asleep, and it can start winding down.
You’ve probably heard it many times before, the blue lights in our smart devices and some TV’s trick our brain into thinking it’s daytime and prevent us from falling asleep. While the light is a big part of it, it’s not the only part. Unfortunately the “blue light filter” on your phone doesn’t filter out the stressful or dramatic content on social media or other apps that can stimulate your drain and keep you hooked and awake longer than you meant to. Do yourself a favor and set an alarm (or use the Sleep Focus mode on iPhones) to remind you to put your phone down 1 hour before you want to be asleep.
Effective naps for adults are 20 minutes. In fact, sleeping more than 30 minutes can negatively impact your ability to fall asleep that night so if you must nap, set an alarm and wake up after 20 minutes.
Most people benefit from sleeping in a dark and cool space. Try to reduce lighting in your room by removing or covering things that shine lights even when the room lights are off. Fans can also be beneficial for keeping the room cool while you sleep. Box fans or white noise machines also can provide ambient noise that can help block out other noises from other rooms so you can keep sleeping peacefully.
Reading, crocheting/knitting, listening to calming music are all great ways to help the brain wind down before bed.
For overthinkers and individuals with anxious thoughts that get worse when the day’s distractions go away, podcasts and audiobooks can be great tools to use. I recommend choosing a podcast or audio book that is mildly interesting or that you’ve heard before (or the audiobook to a movie you’ve seen many times). Pick something that is just interesting enough to hold your attention and keep your brain from wandering off to worries, but not interesting enough to make you want to stay awake to keep listening. Set it on a low volume that you can still hear, but barely. And finally, set a sleep timer for 30-60 minutes. If you wake up in the middle of the night, restart or rewind by 30 minutes and reset the sleep timer. If you share a bed with someone, you can find inexpensive bluetooth headbands that have flat speakers in the band so you can still lay on your side without hurting your ears.
A therapist can help you address and reduce the anxiety that may be keeping you awake or preventing you from staying asleep. Working with a sleep specialist may be another step if other sleep challenges are a factor.
Therapy for Anxiety
Anxiety can be anything from a pesky worry to overwhelming panic. Kimberleigh can help you explore what types of anxiety are showing up and impacting your life, and teach you tools and strategies to manage it.
To begin anxiety therapy with Mindfully Balanced Therapy:
Schedule a consult call with Kimberleigh or fill out a contact form on our website.
Meet with Kimberleigh to talk about how anxiety is currently making life feel difficult and overwhelming, and learn about how Mindfully Balanced Therapy can help you overcoming these hurdles.
Feel free from the anxious thought spirals that keep you up at night!
