The 6 Best Approaches to Stop Anxiety from Impacting Your Sleep
Sleep is not only a time when our bodies rest but also an opportunity to rejuvenate and replenish our minds. Unfortunately for some people, their stress and anxious thoughts can be so overwhelming that it interferes with their sleep.
For many people, anxiety can have a profound effect on their sleep. There are many different ways to approach this problem, but choosing a strategy appropriate to your lifestyle and personal situation is important.
However, following a few different strategies and tactics, you can learn how to stop anxiety from affecting your sleep. This blog will discuss six different approaches you can use to improve the quality of your sleep.
What Is Sleep Anxiety?
Sleep anxiety is a condition that causes you to worry about poor sleep. The fear of not being able to fall asleep or remain sleeping can lead to more sleepless nights.
Sleep anxiety is an umbrella term that refers to a range of excessive worries about the quality of your sleep. It may also be called insomnia phobia or nightmare disorder.
Common symptoms include:
- Constant anxiety about being unable to fall or stay asleep
- Experiencing racing thoughts in your head that interfere with sleep
- Being unable to “turn off” your mind, no matter how tired you are.
Sleep disruptions frequently accompany anxiety and other psychological issues. Those who suffer from anxiety disorders often struggle to sleep and stay asleep. Other people may spend more time worrying about not getting enough sleep, which can disrupt their ability to fall asleep. It often feels like a never-ending cycle, with one condition frequently aggravating the other.
6 Ways to Cope Anxiety from Interfering Your Sleep
Many people suffering from anxiety report having sleep difficulties because of their racing thoughts and constant worrying habits.
Anxiety is normal and is experienced by almost everyone from time to time. Your body reacts to stressful situations by activating your flight or fight response, triggering anxiety. However, if your anxious thoughts start interfering with your day-to-day activities, you may be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.
If you're suffering from poor sleep and anxiety, there are several things you can do to help yourself feel more rested.
Here are six ways to cope with anxiety, so it doesn't impact your sleep:
1. Practice relaxation techniques before bedtime
Deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation can reduce stress when you feel anxious about something. Practice these techniques for at least 10 minutes daily and try to do them simultaneously each night (for example, right before bed). This will help you develop a habit of relaxing when you're anxious, which will help reduce the negative effects of anxiety on your sleep.
2. Minimise news and social media consumption
Your anxiety will not improve if you spend hours a day looking at devices and reading the news. Reserve ten minutes in the morning and another ten in the afternoon to review the daily news. You should also limit your time on social media and only look at reputable sites when required.
3. Get moving
Exercise is one of the best ways to combat anxiety because it releases endorphins that help reduce stress and improve mood. Exercise has even been shown to be more effective than prescription medication for treating depression and anxiety disorders!
4. Recognise and address your "what if?" fears
These are the kinds of concerns that cause us to daydream about the worst possible outcomes. It's easy to fall into this line of thought because it gives us the comforting illusion that we're getting ready for the worst. Yet the truth is that we're only making ourselves feel worse. Write down potential worries during your worry window and remind yourself that they may never come to pass.
5. Create an environment conducive to sleep
For people suffering from anxiety disorders, it can be difficult both to fall asleep and to stay asleep. To help ease your mind, create an environment that's conducive to sleep by dimming lights, turning off electronics, and lowering the temperature in your bedroom at least 30 minutes before you go to bed. Studies show that a comfortable bedtime routine reduces anxiety and improves sleep quality.
6. Avoid caffeine after 2 p.m.
Caffeine has been shown to cause restlessness and insomnia by stimulating the central nervous system and increasing adrenaline levels in the body. Avoid coffee after 2 p.m., or switch from coffee to green tea if you want something caffeinated before bedtime.
Takeaway
If you are experiencing anxiety and are having trouble sleeping, there are many things that you can do to cope. If your anxiety has reached the point where going about your daily life has become hard, it might be time to see a professional. Several telehealth services available today provide online medical certificates in Australia if you find that your lack of sleep has started affecting your work or study.
At Prime Medic, we offer online medical certificates in Australia for those who cannot get an in-person appointment or are too busy to make one. A medical certificate allows you to access sick leave from your school, university or office and get paid for it. They can be issued by doctors in Australia who specialise in psychiatric conditions.
You may schedule an appointment with one of our online doctors now, and we'll get you a medical certificate online in no time.
In addition to online GP consultations and medical certificates, we can also help you with carer certificates, online specialist referrals and repeat prescriptions. Simply log in to your Prime Medic account to get started!
