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Home > stress

Sleep Anxiety: What It Is and How to Cope

Written by Andrew

Posted on May 17, 2020 Leave a Comment

Colorful alarm clock

For many folks, crawling under the covers after a long day is among one of life’s great pleasures. Bedtime is seen as a sweet release from the anxieties and stresses of life, not to mention an essential opportunity to recharge the batteries for the next day.

For others, however, sleeping is a major source of dread. For these people, lying in bed provides little more than a chance to pore over all of the responsibilities and tasks they must attend to. As time ticks by and they lie awake fearing the mountain of problems they need to address, their worries might even shift to the thought that they will not be well-rested enough to tackle those challenges.

Enter sleep anxiety: a condition in which obsessive, anxious thoughts make normal falling and staying asleep extremely difficult. This kind of anxiety can lead to serious health problems in both the short and long term if not treated properly. Read on to understand what causes it, and some of the most effective means of treating the disorder.

Worrying about sleep

Researchers and psychologists have noted well-established links between anxiety disorders and poor sleep for a long time. Many studies show that reported nighttime disturbances are much higher in patients with all forms of anxiety disorders.

But specific anxiety disorders are linked to idiosyncratic sleep disturbances. Panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and other anxiety-related afflictions are associated with specific negative sleep patterns. Almost all of them are heavily correlated with insomnia, and especially difficulty falling asleep. Obsessive racing thoughts about the pressures of daily life can make it almost impossible to drift off. But it is when those thoughts turn to sleep, or having difficulty sleeping, that the term sleep anxiety comes into play.

In a way, this particular kind of anxiety is a terrible form of self-fulfilling prophecy. When we are so concerned with the fear that we won’t be able to get enough sleep, insomnia can kick in, and we actually do fail to maintain healthy sleep patterns. Furthermore, when we are sleep deprived we are much more likely to exacerbate the symptoms of anxiety that might keep us awake in the first place.

Anxieties surrounding sleep disorders are a common cause

As WebMD reports, sleep anxiety is often related to one’s knowledge that they will be affected by another disorder. Insomnia begets insomnia, as mentioned above, but worrying that your apnea will awaken you later in the night can also cause the type of anxiety that makes it difficult to sleep in the first place.

Another common trigger of sleep anxiety is fear of parasomnias, the odd and terrifying class of sleep disorders which includes sleep paralysis, nightmare disorder, and night terrors. Fearing sleep on the grounds that it might induce extremely unpleasant hallucinations or potentially dangerous nocturnal adventures is certainly understandable. Though ironically, by trying to avoid them and breaking healthy routines, you will put yourself at an increased risk of these incidences.

One of the most important things you can do to avoid the sleep anxiety associated with other sleep disorders is to treat the underlying condition as best you can.

Diagnoses

If you believe you are suffering from sleep anxiety, speaking with a doctor can help you to develop a plan for treatment. While there isn’t a formal diagnostic checklist for sleep anxiety itself, doctors will likely work with you to identify patterns of anxious thinking which can lead to the condition. These may include:

  • Constant worrying about things in a way that is “out of proportion”
  • Overthinking everything
  • Feeling threatened in unthreatening situations
  • Fear or discomfort with uncertainty
  • Extreme indecisiveness and fear of making bad choices
  • Inability to relax or set aside worries
  • Difficulty concentrating, accompanied by the feeling of a blank mind

Further questioning might be in order to determine if these thought patterns apply directly to your sleep.

Books, coffee, candle for a nice bath

How to treat sleep anxiety

Addressing sleep anxiety is often more complicated than treating any common illness. It is at its core a complex psychological condition whose treatment could involve a combination of lifestyle changes, medication, therapy, and more.

Here are our tips for keeping sleep anxiety in check:

  • Treat your underlying anxiety disorder: If you suffer from general anxiety, prioritize treating this condition above all else. Managing anxious thought patterns is the most important key to overcoming sleep anxiety—that will be impossible if you leave a serious anxiety disorder untreated.
  • Keep any sleep disorders well managed: The same rule that applies above applies here. Sleep disorders can be serious triggers of the type of worry and anxiety that makes falling and staying asleep difficult. Seek treatment for these conditions as a first step.
  • If you take medications, examine side effects: Some medications might keep you up without you even knowing it. If you take medication, especially for anxiety disorders or depression, make sure you are aware of how any drugs might be affecting your nocturnal patterns.
  • Eat healthily and exercise regularly: Maintaining a healthy diet and exercise routine will prime your body for the best possible rest. Make sure that you don’t eat or exercise too heavily close to bedtime however, as these activities can be stimulating. On that note, avoid caffeine, nicotine, and other stimulating substances as well.
  • Establish a consistent routine: Heading to bed and rising at the same time every day will help train your body to fall into a good rhythm, adjusting its biological clock to usher in sleep easier as soon as the right time comes.
  • Find ways to relax before bed: Whether it’s through meditation, listening to Bach or taking a hot bath, finding ways to relax in the evening can soothe your body and mind. Try to keep your mind off of the pressures you face in your day-to-day life, and certainly avoid using your phone or any other screen in the evening directly before bedtime.
  • Make your bedroom a place of extreme comfort: Your bedroom should be slightly cool, very dark, and as quiet as possible. If you find that having an alarm clock or other timekeeping devices near you triggers anxiety, take it out of your bedroom. Treat your bed as a temple reserved for sleep, relaxing activities, and sex.

 

Filed Under: Sleep Health Tagged With: sleep anxiety, stress, trouble sleeping, worry

Home > stress

Anxiety: Guide and Tips for Better Sleep

Written by Andrew

Posted on March 16, 2020 Leave a Comment

Depressed man suffering from anxiety lying in bed

Anxiety has an especially insidious relationship to sleep. Sleeplessness, caused by symptoms of anxiety, will inevitably lead to more trouble falling asleep. The two feed off of each other in a downward spiral that can make life miserable.

Sleep is an important tool to manage anxiety; therefore, it is extremely important to understand how the two relate, and how to manage a healthy sleep cycle even when suffering from symptoms of anxiety.

The Anxiety and Depression Association of America is a leading nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness of mental health issues. According to them, anxiety disorder is the single most common mental illness in the United States. Over 40 million U.S adults suffer from the disorder, constituting a massive 18% of the population.

How anxiety affects the body

The relationship between sleep and anxiety is embedded in the symptoms of mental illness. Having a basic understanding of how anxiety works can help in creating strategies to manage it, especially when it comes to sleep.

There are several types of anxiety disorders, ranging from generalized anxiety to specific phobias. The Mayo Clinic lists the following symptoms for generalized anxiety:

  • Constant worrying about things in a way that is “out of proportion”
  • Overthinking everything
  • Feeling threatened in unthreatening situations
  • Fear or discomfort with uncertainty
  • Extreme hesitancy and fear of making bad choices
  • Inability to relax or set aside worries
  • Difficulty concentrating, accompanied by the feeling of a blank mind

The Mayo Clinic also lists the following physical symptoms:

  • Tiredness (fatigue)
  • Muscle tension and soreness
  • Twitching and trembling
  • Frightens easily
  • Increased sweating
  • Stomach problems including nausea, diarrhea, and even irritable bowel syndrome
  • Irritability

Stressed business woman with anxiety disorder

The severity of any and all of these symptoms fluctuates depending on a number of stress factors, and the patterns of symptoms present can be different in every individual case of anxiety.

Scientists are still unsure about the neurological root causes of anxiety disorders. A 2017 review found that due to its overlap with other mood and affective disorders, scientists had yet to specify with certainty the biological mechanics of how anxiety affects the brain of people. Scientists hypothesize that it might be related to a chemical imbalance affecting our “fight or flight” response, which defines how we physiologically and psychologically react to different situations. The amygdala is necessary for this process and remains a target of study.

How anxiety affects sleep patterns

It is important to reiterate here that there are several specific disorders associated with anxiety. PTSD, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and OCD are but a few that rest within the spectrum. Each of these has been associated with its own effect on sleep, some of which are discussed below.

  • Panic Disorder: Patients with panic disorder have been found to have reduced sleep efficiency, the ratio between the time they spend in bed and the actual amount of time they sleep. Patients typically find it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep as well. Often they are interrupted by night time panic attacks and suffer from insomnia as a result.
  • Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Studies have found that up to 70% of patients who suffer from GAD also suffer from chronic insomnia. It has been speculated that people with insomnia, usually at the hands of racing thoughts and worry, might even be recognized as a symptom of GAD. Regardless of which one causes the other, lack of sleep can exacerbate other symptoms of GAD.
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Results of studies aimed at identifying the exact relationship between OCD and sleep have been mixed. Many of them report links between insomnia and OCD, though no conclusive data suggests there is a significant impairment in the quality of sleep for people with OCD.
  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Evidence has also been mixed on whether PTSD patients suffer significant sleep disturbances as a result of their disorder. Some studies have found that there is an increased REM density (more active eye movements) in PTSD patients, suggesting more intense dreams. This could be a result of their inability to stop reliving traumatic events, which might follow them in their dreams.

Overall, anxiety seems to be linked to difficulty in falling asleep (insomnia), and in some cases an increase in sleep disturbances throughout the night.

Tips for maintaining healthy sleep

young woman has insomnia due to anxietyTo address the main sleep problems associated with anxiety, try the following tips and tricks to manage symptoms during bedtime:

  • Seek treatment for your anxiety disorder: This might be the most effective way to get a good night’s sleep if you have anxiety. Visit a specialist to determine which type of treatment is right for you, be it therapy, medication, or a combination of the two. Treating the root causes of the problem is the best way to ensure that sleep problems are reduced as well.
  • If you are on medication, note side effects: Some medications can keep you up at night, even if they are not prescribed directly for anxiety. Talk to your doctor about your trouble sleeping, and work together to determine if medication might be the cause.
  • Eat healthily, and exercise regularly: A good diet and routine exercise can go a long way in defeating sleep problems, as well as symptoms of anxiety. Make sure not to eat heavily or exercise too close to bedtime.
  • Avoid stimulating or depressing substances: Caffeine, nicotine, alcohol and other drugs can complicate your sleep cycle and increase symptoms of anxiety. If you suffer from panic disorder, you might want to consider excluding caffeine from your diet entirely.
  • Avoid electronics and bright lights before bed: Exposing yourself to artificial light in the evening will interrupt the body’s natural process of growing drowsy and inducing sleep. Consuming stimulating information close to bed can also contribute to racing thoughts and worrying thought patterns that might keep you up.
  • Find your own way to relax: Whether it’s with music, a hot bath or meditation. Finding personalized tools and techniques that allow you to calm your mind before bed will improve your chances of falling asleep quickly. That will help you to sleep soundly throughout the night.

 

Filed Under: Sleep Health Tagged With: disorders, insomnia, stress, tips

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