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Anxiety: Guide and Tips for Better Sleep

Written by Andrew

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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.

 

Are Naps Good For You?

Written by Andrew

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All About Napping

There’s nothing quite like giving in to your heavy eyelids and drifting off to sleep in the middle of the afternoon. Even if it’s just for a short time.

Young man napping on his couch at home in the living roomFrom carefree kids and overworked parents to even the family pets, it seems like everybody loves napping. In the United States, one in three adults have taken one in the last twenty-four hours, according to data from the Pew Research Center. Indeed, napping happens all over the world, among all age groups.

There’s the famous 20-minute power nap at work. The commute doze-off on the way to or from the office. The Sunday afternoon snooze. The list goes on and on.

Some say they are the unexpected “hack” that helps them be productive all day long. Others deride them as the vice of the lazy or unorganized—a bad way for those who don’t get their eight hours a night to play catch up.

But what does science say about naps? Are they really as good as they feel? Can they make us more productive? The answers might surprise you.

Are naps good for you?

The short answer to this is yes, under the right conditions. Napping is essentially “sleep lite;” when we do, we fall asleep faster and move through the stages of sleep just as we do at night, though we often jump more quickly into the type of sleep we need the most. When performed correctly (we will get into this later), they are one of the best ways not just to catch up on missed sleep, but also to get a myriad of other health benefits as well.

If you do it right, napping provides a ton of short-term benefits, such as:

  • Feeling less sleepy (duh)
  • Increased alertness
  • Improved cognitive functioning
  • Improved mood
  • Enhanced short-term memory
  • Improved psychomotor functioning (activities such as driving a car or playing an instrument)

There is also some evidence that napping may provide limited cardiovascular benefits, though more research must be done.

Are there downsides?

With all those benefits of napping, you might be wondering why we don’t take them even more.

For one, there are logistical obstacles to stealing the time and space for a quick snooze. Though there is a growing trend to allow employees to sleep at work, most people still find it difficult to fit into their schedule.

Even if you have some time and a comfortable place to close your eyes, effective napping is made all the more difficult by a concept referred to as sleep inertia in the scientific community. For the rest of us, this phenomenon is known as, “feeling extremely groggy when I wake up from a nap,” syndrome. Waking up can be as difficult as waking up in the morning if you fall into a deep sleep (especially slow-wave sleep), making the proper timing of a nap all the more important.

The Mayo Clinic also points out that some people might experience trouble sleeping during their nighttime sleep schedules or staying asleep after napping during the day. Though they don’t seem to affect most people in this way, but those who are prone to insomnia or with sleep disorders should avoid taking long naps regularly.

What does the perfect nap look like?

Young woman napping in parkAlthough there probably isn’t one “perfect” nap, there are certainly better naps for different needs. For example:

  • If you just need a quick afternoon pick me up: Anywhere from 5 minutes to 20 minutes should do the trick. At this length you are unlikely to experience severe sleep inertia, making your return to work easy, and you will experience the benefits of napping for about 3 hours.
  • If you want to prepare for a long night of work or play: Try taking a nap for an hour or two. You will definitely experience some sleep inertia grogginess after you wake up, but the benefits of your nap can stay with you for up to 24 hours afterwards. Just make sure you don’t need to be in a meeting (or operate heavy machinery) immediately after you wake up!
  • Something in between: If you just need a boost that will take you through the afternoon and evening but not all night, try sleeping for about 30 to 45 minutes. You will get a little bit of grogginess, but not much, and the benefits of your nap will last about 12 hours.

Tips for napping your best nap:

Now that you know the ups and downs of napping, here are a few extra tips to help set yourself up for the optimal nap experience:

Young woman napping in park

  1. Best time to nap: We all experience afternoon drowsiness. For those who rise early, that window is around 1 to 2 p.m. For late risers, that time is about an hour and a half later. Timing in this window will help you fall asleep quicker and avoid disrupting your nighttime sleep schedule.
  2. Decide what kind you need: Do you need a quick ten minutes? Or are you going to a rave later? Choose how long to nap, and set an alarm that gives you enough time to achieve the right amount of sleep.
  3. Choose the right place: Find a place where you won’t be disturbed. Get yourself comfortable, and try to darken your environment (a sleep mask works great if you can’t dim the lights).
  4. Give yourself plenty of time to wake up: Make sure that you are aware of the things you have to do when you wake up. It’s not the best idea to drag yourself into an important presentation five minutes after waking up from a two-hour nap. Shorter is better for the workplace, as they make you less drowsy when you wake up.
  5. Take notes and improve: After trying these techniques for a while, you should begin to find a rhythm that allows you to take effective naps depending on your personal lifestyle. Make sure to pay attention to how you sleep in the evenings following naps. If you find it difficult to sleep in the evening, you may be sleeping too much during the day.

Am I Getting Enough Sleep at Night?

Written by Sam

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Take this simple quiz to measure your sleep health.

  1. Do you wake up every day wishing you could go back to sleep?
  2. Do you find yourself zoning out, or nodding off during meetings?
  3. Do you need multiple cups of coffee to make it through the day?
  4. As you read this article, do you notice yourself reading and rereading a particular sentence or paragraph over and over?

The answers to these questions point to the quantity and quality of sleep you are getting each night.

While many movers and shakers in today’s world will contend that they need only 4-5 hours of sleep per night to be highly functional, more and more research shows that an 8-9 hour window is necessary to reap the benefits of a good night’s rest. Showing 6 hours is not enough. Anything less and you’re putting your health at risk and could even be missing out on perks like the boost in creativity and problem-solving you may accrue while dreaming.

Despite the benefits, we know that sleep provides, and the glorious feeling we all have after getting a full night of it. Though, many of us still do not dedicate adequate time to it. So, if you simply don’t want to, or for whatever reason can’t get the recommended 8+ hours of rest, how do you know if you’re routinely getting a healthy amount? Be sure to read our article, 8 Tips for a Better Night’s Sleep.

lying-awake-at-night

Defining Sleep Health

A group of researchers led by Daniel J. Buysse, MD from the Sleep Medicine Institute and Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, has developed a tool to help the general public better understand and talk about their sleep health.

What exactly is sleep health? Here is the group’s proposed definition:

A multidimensional pattern of sleep-wakefulness, adapted to individual, social, and environmental demands, that promotes physical and mental well-being. Good sleep health is characterized by subjective satisfaction, appropriate timing, adequate duration, high efficiency, and sustained alertness during waking hours.

Of course, by this definition, it is difficult to quantify–especially given that it is “adapted to individual, social, and environmental demands,” and so will vary depending on the individual and their circumstances.

Enter SATED

SATED, a self-report scale that Buysse and crew believe can help us measure sleep health. Answering SATED’s series of questions–around your Satisfaction, Alertness while awake, Timing of sleep, sleep Efficiency, and Duration –can help you determine your level of fulfillment each night. Simply total your rating in each category to get your overall sleep health score.

sleep-sated-info-graphic
Photograph: Daniel J Buysse/University of Pittsburgh

One of the goals these researchers had in developing SATED was to shift medicine’s focus from simply looking for ways to treat common problems like insomnia, apnea and the like, to a more holistic focus on promoting positive habits.

Creating a scale like SATED gives us a means of studying this type of specific health better. Simply introducing and defining sleep health could help people recognize any deficiencies they might have and empower them to make changes in their lives and improve their overall health in the process.

Why You Should Ditch Your Alarm Clock

Written by Sam

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What if you didn’t need an alarm clock? Imagine waking up naturally to pleasant daylight with plenty of time for a hot shower, a cup of coffee, and a croissant. Imagine arriving at work on time, feeling rested and ready to go.

Sound like a fairy tale? It’s not.

In fact, the more impossible ditching your alarm clock sounds to you, the more you should probably consider doing so.

alarm-clock-sleep

Why Alarm Clocks and Good Sleep Don’t Mix

Sleep occurs in stages that repeat throughout each night. This repetition is called the sleep cycle. Read our article on The Stages of Sleep and Sleep Cycles. Every cycle includes four stages:

  • Stage One Stage One is the lightest stages. Your body relaxes, your mind drifts, and you may not even realize you are asleep. During this stage, you can wake easily.
  • Stage Two Stage Two sleep is similar to Stage One but deeper. Your brain begins to actively block out external noises and disruptions and waking is more difficult.
  • Stage Three During Stage Three you are in a deep and dreamless state. Waking is very difficult. Night terrors and sleepwalking can happen during Stage Three.
  • REM Sleep REM is when dreams occur. Your mind reviews and interprets events of the day using the language of dreams. REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement. During REM your eyes move behind your closed eyelids as if you were awake and experiencing real events, but your body remains immobile so you don’t hurt yourself.

Throughout the night, your mind and body cycle between Stage Two, Stage Three, and REM Sleep. All stages of sleep are necessary for good health and adequate rest. When you use an alarm to wake up, the alarm can interrupt any of these stages, depriving your mind and body of the restoration a particular stage of sleep provides.

Some people wake up an hour or two before the alarm goes off and sleep lightly, checking the time every ten or fifteen minutes until it is time to rise. This habit is every bit as bad as being jolted out of a deep sleep by a blaring alarm. Instead of only one stage being interrupted, an hour or two of light sleep is substituted for the deep and dreaming stages you actually need.

How to Live Without an Alarm

Living without an alarm is all about understanding your sleep habits and how much you actually need and then giving yourself the time and space to achieve that. Most adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night. A recent Gallup poll shows that an astonishing 40% of Americans get less than 6 hours, and 14% get less than 5 hours.

In fact, the average amount of sleep an adult American gets is 6.9 hours, less than the minimum amount recommended. Add to that the disrupting presence of LED alarms and multiple screened devices in the bedroom and you have a recipe for a chronically sleep-deprived nation.

Reversing this trend is fairly simple. First, make sure you are practicing good sleep hygiene. Make sure you have no TVs in the bedroom, no laptops, no work files, just a calm, cool place to get a good night’s rest.

Next, for two weeks simply record how long you sleep when you don’t have an alarm waking you up. Write the number down for each night. You may be surprised to discover that you wake up naturally without even completing the two-week sleep diary, but do it anyway. Once you have the average number, give yourself at least that much time per night.

For instance, if you find you need 8 hours of sleep per night and you need to get up at 6:00 am, that means you need to be in bed and ready for sleep by 10:00 pm. Try to keep a regular sleep schedule, even on weekends, and you’ll find waking up without an alarm is easy.

A Sunny Workaround

If waking up on your own means waking up in a dark room, you do have a natural and safe option to help you out. A sunrise alarm is an alarm that emits a small amount of light about a half-hour before your waking time and increases the amount of light until your room is as bright as day.

Sunrise alarms mimic the natural world and keep your natural rhythms and your sleep cycle intact, so long as you continue to give yourself enough hours in bed to sleep well.

No Time for Sleep?

Although recent polls make it clear that Americans are cutting corners by sleeping less, you may be surprised to learn that shaving even an hour off can impact your health in significantly negative ways.

Health problems associated with sleep deprivation include decreased performance and alertness, increased injury in the workplace and increased car accidents, anxiety and depression, heart problems, as well as memory and cognitive disorders.

You need good sleep the same way you need good food to eat and good air to breathe. If you don’t make it a priority, you could feel effects like increased illness, poor quality of life, reduced job performance, and stress at home.

The good news is that the same technology that seems to be robbing us of sleep can also help us get back to getting the sleep we need. High-tech foam, organic materials, and supportive construction are now used to create some of the most comfortable mattresses and bedding ever designed. Sunrise alarms mimic natural cycles effectively, and blackout curtains and shades keep bedrooms free from light pollution.

So make a commitment to ditch that alarm today. Your body, and your life, will thank you for it.

8 Tips for a Better Night’s Sleep

Written by Will

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According to the CDC, one in three American adults do not get the recommended amount of sleep each night. Even among adults who do get at least 7 hours of sleep nightly, 35% report that their sleep quality is poor or only fair.

Many people regard getting good quality sleep in adequate amounts as a luxury, but nothing could be less true. Poor or insufficient sleep is tied to a host of serious physical and emotional illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, and depression. Factors underlying poor and insufficient sleep include poverty, job stress, light pollution, and too much time spent in front of screens.

Getting a good night’s sleep boosts immunity, reaction time, productivity, overall health, and happiness. Good sleep is like good air and good food: You may not realize how much you depend on it until you’re not getting it.

Fortunately, a few simple changes in your daily routine can make a huge improvement in the quantity and quality of your sleep. If you’ve been having trouble falling asleep, sleeping well, or getting enough sleep, here are 8 tips for better sleep to help you get the peaceful rest you deserve:

8 tips on how to sleep soundly

1) Establish a bedtime ritual.

For at least an hour before bedtime, stay off of your computer and cell phone and just relax. TV is all right but reading a book is even better. No work, no housecleaning, just decompress. Read our article The Stages of Sleep and Sleep Cycles for more on how your circadian rhythm works along with your bedtime ritual.

2) Eliminate light pollution.

Recent research reveals that when exposed to light during sleep, people can develop sleep disorders, daytime anxiety, headaches, significant stress, and even some forms of obesity. Light slows the production of melatonin, a hormone that is essential to sound sleep. Make sure your bedroom is dark: use blackout curtains or shades, and block the light emanating from alarm clocks and night lights.

3) Create a stress-free sleep zone.

Do you keep a TV, laptop, PC, or tablet in your bedroom? Remove them. Remove all clutter and do whatever you can to make sure your bedroom is comfortable and private. Try to refrain from working, watching TV, or reading on your devices in your bedroom.

4) Try a new mattress.

Did you know that most mattresses need to be replaced at the ten-year mark, if not sooner? If you are sleeping on an old, hard, or too-soft mattress, it’s time to go shopping. Do a bit of research first. You’ll be amazed at what is available today in custom mattresses.

5) Spend time outdoors.

Simply spending at least half an hour per day getting mild exercise outdoors can improve the quality of your nights and keep your bones and immune system strong. Sunlight promotes the production of melatonin, the same hormone that decreases when exposed to artificial light at night. Exercise helps elevate mood and relieves stress. Even fairly short periods of light exercise outdoors can help enormously. Take your dog outside and throw a ball around.

6) Schedule a check-up.

While poor sleep can cause health problems, many health problems also cause poor sleep. If you are plagued by insomnia or wake up feeling like you got no rest at all, a visit to your family doctor could help you get to the bottom of it. Diabetes, cardiac problems, depression, anxiety disorders, and a host of sleep disorders can cause a lack of sleep and poor quality. All of these conditions are treatable. Treat underlying health problems and your nights should improve.

7) Curb your caffeine intake.

Do you power through the day with caffeinated sodas or coffee? Caffeine is a powerful stimulant and it doesn’t take much to overdo it. Consider switching to green tea or water. When a midday slump hits, ask yourself if you really need a shot of caffeine. Maybe what your body really craves is a high protein snack or a rest. Even a short, 10-minute catnap can revitalize you and move you along to log out time. People with sedentary jobs sometimes feel refreshed by taking a ten-minute walk during breaks. Consider stretching or meditating at your desk, or both.

8) Monitor your stress levels.

Do you feel like a rat on a treadmill? Do you never find enough hours in the day to do everything that needs to be done? Making your day longer and your night shorter is not a good solution. Examine your day and ask yourself what can be eliminated or outsourced. Can you pay someone to clean your house even once or twice a month? Can friends or family help you tackle some of your to-dos? Are you feeling overworked at the office? It’s important to take time for yourself and turn off. It will likely result in lower stress and increased productivity.

Bonus Tip: Avoid Sleeping Pills if Possible.

Sometimes medications are necessary to health, but sleeping pills should only ever be used as a temporary or emergency measure. If you find yourself relying on pills to get to sleep, talk to your doctor. Sometimes a short round of targeted psychotherapy or a visit to a sleep clinic can turn things around fast, resulting in healthier sleep and a healthier life.

Last but not least, remember that sleep is not a luxury. Sleep is like air or food or water. Your body needs it. You need it. Honor yourself and do what you need to do to get your body the restful sleep it deserves.

Your waking life will thank you!