It can be hard to get the sleep you need when you deal with anxiety and racing thoughts the moment your head hits the pillow. For some people, moving from one activity to the next throughout the day can keep anxiety at bay, only for it to rear its ugly head the moment you try to quiet your mind.
Anxiety-related insomnia and other sleep struggles can make it tough to get the rest you need to feel your best. Some people find that nighttime anxiety creates a vicious cycle: anxiety makes it hard to sleep, and fatigue causes more anxiety. Here, we'll take a look at how anxiety can affect the quality of your sleep, and holistic steps you can take to ease the symptoms of anxiety at night.
The impact of anxiety on sleep quality
You already know how hard it can be to sleep when you're feeling worried, and it can become even more difficult when you start to get anxious about not getting enough sleep. Research shows that approximately 50% of people who have anxiety experience sleep disturbances, and that failure to get enough sleep can make anxiety worse.
Anxiety can affect sleep in a number of ways, including:
- Difficulty falling asleep: Anxiety can make it harder to fall asleep at night, or to fall back asleep after you wake up before your alarm.
- Nightmares: People who have anxiety are at a greater risk of experiencing nightmares. Anxiety affects rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the phase of sleep during which vivid dreams are common. Anxiety can turn dreams into nightmares that may wake you up.
- Difficulty waking up: Some people who have anxiety find that poor sleep makes it harder to get out of bed in the morning.
Researchers believe that anxiety and sleep disruption may share neural circuitry, allowing one issue to exacerbate the other. The relationship between sleep and anxiety is highly individual. People who have anxiety may find that they need more sleep during anxious times, or they may find the opposite to be true. Using a sleep tracker and mood tracker to help you understand your personal sleep-anxiety connection can help you determine the steps you need to take to improve your sleep quality. Thankfully, there are a variety of holistic methods that can help put a stop to the sleep-anxiety cycle.
Relaxation techniques
Practicing relaxation techniques throughout the day can help with stress management and can improve your sleep quality.
Try these methods to lower stress levels during the day to reduce the likelihood of anxiety interfering with your sleep at night:
- Breathing exercises: Practicing breathing exercises throughout the day can help to lower anxiety. These techniques can also help you drift off to sleep when you're dealing with racing thoughts. Box breathing is a simple way to get started: breathe in for four seconds, hold your breath for four seconds, breathe out for four seconds, and pause for four seconds before repeating the cycle.
- Meditation: When you're dealing with racing thoughts, it can be hard to calm your mind, and meditation can help. While it might seem counterintuitive, meditation can teach you to increase the control you have over your thoughts. A quick, simple guided meditation is a good place to start.
- Yoga: You don't need to be a flexibility champion to enjoy the benefits of a regular yoga practice. Whether you choose to go to a yoga studio for an instructor-led class or you prefer to flow through a yoga video at home, a regular yoga practice can help calm anxiety. Starting with free, at-home videos can help you get started.
Herbal teas and supplements for calming anxiety
Certain dietary supplements and herbal teas may help to ease the symptoms of anxiety. Supplements and teas can have different effects depending on your personal chemistry, so you may need to go through some trial and error before you find the right combination to help improve your sleep.
Herbal teas that may help you fall and stay asleep include:
- Chamomile: This herbal tea contains apigenin, an antioxidant that can decrease anxiety.
- Lavender: The scent of lavender has been shown to reduce anxiety and agitation while promoting restful sleep.
- Valerian root: This herb works to increase GABA—a neurotransmitter that can decrease anxiety and depression— levels in the brain.
Dietary supplements that may help you get better sleep include:
- Vitamin D3: This supplement can improve mood and energy during the day, which can lessen anxiety and make it easier to sleep.
- Magnesium: Magnesium supplements can help to manage muscle tension, regulate serotonin, and improve brain function, all factors that can contribute to healthy sleep.
- Melatonin: This common sleep aid may be helpful for reducing feelings of anxiety at night.
An important note: It's a good idea to talk with your doctor before adding herbs and supplements to your diet, especially if you're taking prescription medications.
Create a bedtime routine to reduce anxiety
Creating and sticking to an evening routine can help to reduce anxiety, setting the stage for restful sleep.
Try these bedtime routine tips to calm anxiety:
- Create and stick to a sleep schedule. Do your best to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on the weekends. This can help your body recognize when it's time to unwind, making it easier for you to relax.
- Stay away from screens for an hour or two before bedtime, as the blue light produced by electronic devices can suppress the release of natural melatonin. While it can be tempting to scroll on your phone when you're having trouble falling asleep, it's a better idea to read a book, stretch, or listen to music.
- Try aromatherapy. Lavender, Bergamot orange, and sandalwood can all help to ease anxiety and promote restful sleep.
Dietary adjustments to promote relaxation
What you eat during the day can make a difference when it comes to falling asleep at night. Often, psychologists and psychiatrists work with patients to help them understand how diet can affect anxiety.
Try making these changes during the day to make it easier to fall asleep at night:
- Stay away from caffeine and alcohol. Both can make it harder for you to get the sleep you need, and can reduce the quality of the sleep that you're able to get once you drift off. While it may be easier to initially drift off to sleep after drinking alcohol, it's not worth the night sweats, frequent wake-ups, and dehydration that drinking alcohol creates.
- Eat foods rich in magnesium, including leafy greens, legumes, nuts, and seeds to get a boost of this muscle-relaxing nutrient.
- Enjoying oysters, cashews, beef, and egg yolks provides your body with a high amount of zinc, which has been linked to lower anxiety levels.
- Eat plenty of produce rich in antioxidants, including beans, apples, prunes, sweet cherries, blackberries, strawberries, walnuts, pecans, broccoli, and spinach to combat anxiety.
- For many people, a diet high in sugar can make it harder to quell anxiety and fall asleep. Try cutting down on processed sugar to lessen anxiety.
Use technology to your advantage
Today's technology can provide information that helps to manage anxiety and restful sleep. Using a wearable fitness tracker can provide you with insights on your sleep, as well as tangible measures of anxiety (such as rising blood pressure) that offer clues about the connection between your anxiety and sleep. Mood tracking apps, like Evidation, can also help to detect patterns in your anxiety.
If you're concerned about sleep-related health conditions, like sleep apnea, it's a good idea to talk to your doctor about getting a sleep study. This can provide you with the information necessary to help you sleep soundly and safely.
At Evidation, we're here to help you feel your best
At Evidation, our app works to put the health data you choose to share to good use. With your permission, we use the health data that you're already tracking to find patterns and give you personalized, content-based insights that can help to inform your health decisions. Analyzing your sleep data, nutrition data, and other health information lets us make the most of your health data, allowing you to harness the power of the information you're tracking without any extra work. Click here to learn more about how Evidation works and download our free app today.
