You turn out the lights. You lay back on your pillow. You close your eyes. And then it starts. Your brain kicks into high gear, and your anxiety comes out to play.
Insomnia and anxiety are frequently reported together. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 54% of adults with anxiety said that they were stressed about falling asleep at night. A further 52% of men and 42% of women with anxiety said that a lack of sleep affected their performances the next day. Sleep disorders and anxiety are so interlinked, that scientists often compare the two to the chicken and the egg.
Sleep disorders can cause anxiety, and anxiety can cause sleep disorders. For many, when they ask their doctors for advice on how to fall asleep fast, HMHB says that they often get referred to medications. This can lead to an unhealthy dependence on sleeping pills, that may come with unpleasant side effects.
If you’re struggling with falling asleep, there are holistic alternatives to sleeping pills. I have previously shared some of my favorite tips to fall asleep naturally, and now want to share these 20 science-approved tricks, courtesy of Drömma Bed. Even if you have been prescribed a sleeping aid to help with your anxiety, try using these natural sleep tricks as often as possible to avoid building an immunity to your prescription.
What are your best tips for beating anxiety at bedtime? Share them in the comments!
No worries,
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THANK YOU! I really appreciate that you take time to reply to me! I
You are always so kind about my very long-winded answers, so thank YOU.
I have been doing great since two month but lately i am a bit scared again because, i read an article that stress can cause mental problems. so I kept telling myself that yes stress caused me anxiety and it can cause anything more severe! So the negative thinking is back and the stress is back! Beside the nightmares that mostly not related to anything in my life! they are just about anything scary! but the good thing is that lately, i have caught myself saying to myself “break the fear cycle” and I keep repeating it during my sleeping. so I felt that well that’s good that my mind is acting in this way and reminding me to stop and break the fear cycle! but i am still worried all the time 🙁
Thanks again and my mind keeps repeating everything in this blog because I read it almost everyday
I understand what you are going through, and again..all normal. I can’t tell you how many times during my recovery I would read something or hear something that I would latch onto and start overthinking and applying to myself. This is a pattern that you will probably live with to some degree throughout your life…I do….because we have very strong survival instincts, and we are basically drama prone. Try your best not to react.
Remind yourself that yes stress can cause mental problems.
It can cause brain fatigue. It can cause over reactions. It can cause hyperawareness. It can cause mood swings. Stress can cause a lot of mental problems.
But can it make you lose your sanity? No. While it is true that trauma and mental illnesses that affect the brain and brain chemistry can cause serious problems, those of us who live with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder or chronic worry do not have to worry about our brains become diseased from stress. We do get physical symptoms but they are all correctable.
Think of a muscle that you use over and over and over again. Imagine if you did bicep curls for an hour until you simply couldn’t lift another thing, not even a feather. The muscle would be exhausted from over use because we weren’t meant to use our biceps muscle in that way. We were meant to use it when needed. Off and on – not continuously. When you over use it, you have some muscle problems now, don’t you. It doesn’t work properly anymore. Its sore. It is probably twitching. Its tired.
But is it diseased? Do we worry bout it when our muscles get to that point? No, because we know what is going on and we just don’t use the muscle for a while. Its the same thing with out brains and our stress coping mechanism. If it is over used, intentionally or not, and whether it is from one really big event or “weight” or a lot of small repetitive stress events or “weights”, it gets tired and doesn’t perform its best anymore. That is an anxiety disorder. Its a brain and mind that need time to heal. So yes stress can do damage, but its nothing you can’t recover from with the right amount of patience.
Once you are done reading my blog for the day or whatever anxiety related blogs or articles bring you comfort or support, make sure you then do something completely non-anxiety related to get your mind off of it and let it rest. Only allow yourself to think about anxiety for 30 minutes a day max. For those 30 minutes, read, learn educate yourself – get the support you need, and then don’t allow yourself to worry anymore. Distract, distract, distract.
Your nightmares could be your anxiety manifesting at night or they could be related to something else. I would try to be patient and not overthink them. Dreams are our brain’s way of helping our subconscious sort through our emotions. Wait and see if things don’t improve and if they don’t I would talk to a professional, if you access to one, that might be able to help.
You are doing great and you are going to be fine. Your brain is strong and awesome and you are doing all the right things.
I love my essential oil diffuser! I add a few drops of lavender into it before I go to bed, and I instantly feel more calm and relaxed.
I use a five minute journal to jot down some positives from my day. I also note something that I want to do better the next day. This helps me clear my mind a bit.
Then If I’m having trouble sleeping I reach for some Sleepytime, chamomile, or peppermint tea and a book. The tea helps relax me and the book does two things. It keeps my mind from spiraling into anxious thoughts and helps make my eyes tired so that I want to close them. I usually drift off to sleep pretty quickly after a few pages.
It does help clear the mind doesn’t it? Reading helps me a lot as well, but there is nothing like writing things down to put your mind at ease. Everybody should do it before bed. We would be a much better rested world.
I believe we need to educate more men and women about the thyroid and how it can cause sleep-deprivation (insomnia) issues.
Great point Jade, thank you. I believe anybody with any kind of sleep issues should see a doctor to rule out a medical cause.