How To Improve Sleep Quality With Anxiety Disorder

Introduction to Improve Sleep Quality With Anxiety Disorder

Improve Sleep Quality With Anxiety Disorder: Have you ever woke up in the middle of the night with your heart racing and your mind running down a spiral of worries? For those with anxiety disorder, as you may know, going to sleep — or staying asleep — can be difficult. 

Anxiety not only hurts you mentally but it can also literally ruin your sleep quality. And likely, poor sleep makes anxiety worse and anxiety makes sleep even worse: a vicious cycle. 

This means if you have ever asked yourself, “How can I get better sleep with anxiety disorder” you are going to want to stick around. 

In this blog, you will learn about the reasons behind the connection between sleep and anxiety and more importantly, simple, effective techniques that you can start implementing today to escape the vicious cycle and enjoy a restful nights sleep.

So whether you have chronic insomnia, or find it hard to get to sleep from worrying, or wake up in the middle of the night with a million thoughts racing through your head, here are tips for getting a better night sleep when feeling anxious. 

Dealing with anxiety and sleep disruption allows you to confidently work toward better, restful sleep.

How Anxiety and Sleep Are Related?

The Impact of Anxiety on Sleep Quality

Improve Sleep Quality With Anxiety Disorder: It is a mental state, but anxiety mostly affects your body. Anxiety is one of the biggest reasons your sleep will suffer. 

During anxiety, stress hormones such as cortisol are released, as they were designed for us to prepare for a fight-or-flight mechanism. 

These hormones can hinder your ability to relax and settle in at night. The hormone that controls your stress level is cortisol however when the levels of cortisol stay high in the evening it never allows your body to reach the proper place of restfulness required for sleep.

This is where the trouble starts. Anxiety disorder keeps your body in an alert mode which makes it difficult to sleep. 

You may be woken up by your own overthinking, and even when you do sleep you can hardly enjoy a restful night. You just skip the natural sleep stages—deep sleep and REM sleep. 

The two important stages of sleep for waking up refreshed—and go straight to light, interrupted sleep, leaving you feeling burnt out in the morning.

Anxiety – Related Sleep Issues

Anxiety: If anxiety is king, your sleep is going to go to hell. Here are some of the most common sleep issues that people with anxiety experience:

Inability to Sleep: You tend to ruminate over the persistent fear that you cannot get your life back together, and this makes it hard to relax in order to fall asleep. Work, relationships, health, or many other thoughts that will keep you awake for hours.

Inability to Stay Asleep: When you do get to sleep, anxiety can keep you waking up multiple times during the night. This is when you wake up with your thoughts racing, or your heart racing,

Awakening Early in the Morning: An aspect that will be experienced more often by many people with anxiety disorder where they do wake up one or two hours before their time.

Insecurity and Troubling Dreams: When anxiety turns into a vivid dream or a bad dream that causes you to awake from your sleep with millions of questions in your mind when you wake up.

Particularly, the relationship between anxiety and sleep is a complicated one. Of course, the next thing that happens is that when the sleep does not come the way it should, the anxiety symptoms get worse rebounding to lose in this vicious circle of tiredness and unease.

The cycle of Anxiety and Lack of Sleep

It is a vicious cycle between anxiety and poor sleep. If you feel more anxious, the worse the sleep quality and the worse the sleep quality, the more anxious you feel. 

It can be hard to escape this cycle as each element contributes to the next. But, with an appropriate plan, you can break that cycle and create better sleep.

Practical suggestions to help with sleep quality during anxiety

Improve Sleep Quality With Anxiety Disorder: Although it seems as if your anxiety is a foe, there are ways you can combat that anxiety and get better sleep. Here are some actionable tips to cope with anxiety and sleep better:

So, what to do — apart from start a Sunday tradition of making bacon & eggs for lunch or brunch or breakfast (you get the point)– Create a calming routine before bed.

When it comes to sleeping better with anxiety disorder, one of the best ways to do so is to have a relaxing bedtime routine. 

If you are stressed or worrying, your body may need time to relax as well. A regular bedtime routine tells your brain that it is time to unwind and prepare to sleep.

Here are few things you can do

Deep Breathing Exercises: Deep breathing helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system (the relaxation part). 

Hold your breath for a count of 7 seconds, and then release all your air slowly through your mouth over a count of 8 seconds — this is a technique called the 4-7-8 method.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR): In this, you systematically tense each group of muscles in your body then relax, starting with the rose and moving all the way up to your head. This might ease the tension you feel in your body from anxiety.

Mindful Meditation: Guided meditation or mindfulness exercises can clear your head of the thoughts that induce anxiety, allowing your body to relax and your mind to clear, both of which are necessary for sleep.

Read or Listen to Soothing Music: Do not do stimulating activity such as turn on the TV and scrolling your phone. Rather, go with a nice book or some music to calm your head.

Don’t Reducing TV and Stimulants Before Sleep

Screens emit blue light, which can interfere with your melatonin levels, the hormone responsible for regulating sleep. 

Cutting screen exposure for the day at least 30-60 minutes before bedtime is a key factor in improving sleep quality. 

That means no phone, no tablets, and no computers, and don however possible to avoid any television watching prior to bed.

Also, stimulants like caffeine and nicotine, as well as over-indulging on your meals can affect the process of falling asleep. 

This is why it is best to avoid or cut out caffeine, particularly in the afternoon and evening. 

Rather, choose herbal teas without caffeine such as chamomile or valerian root that have calming effects.

Maintain the Same Sleep Timing

Improve Sleep Quality With Anxiety Disorder: Second, setting up a consistent schedule will help you reduce and manage anxiety while increasing sleep quality. Sleeping and rising at the same hour every day (even at weekends) helps regulate your internal clock (circadian rhythm). 

Once your body adapts to a fixed sleep schedule, you will fall asleep faster and enjoy deeper and more restorative sleep as well.

Your brain loves routine, and a consistent routine tells your brain when to wind down and when it’s time to get up. 

If you are not able to stick to your sleep schedule and feel anxious in the evening, you could set up a reminder every night so that you are able to start relaxing at least 30 minutes before your set time for going to bed.

Achieve Ideal Sleep Conditions

Your sleep environment greatly impacts your sleep quality. Feeling anxious makes you too conscious of everything around you which is why you should do everything. 

You can to make your bedroom as comfortable as possible for sleep. Check out these tips to make your sleep environment better:

Comfy Mattress and Pillows: Make sure that your mattress and pillows are comfortable. You Might Have to Replace Them If you get up arisen with aches and pains, it might be a sign that they need dumped.

Moderately Cool & Dark Room: Ideally, the room temperature where you sleep should be relatively cooler—between 60 and 67°F (15 and 19 °C). Another is darkness— think: blackout curtains or an eye mask to avoid the light.

Soundproof Yourself: For noise-sensitive people, you can use earplugs or a white noise machine to drown out distractions.

Engage In Regular Physical Activity (But Not Right Before You Go To Sleep)

Exercise is known to decrease anxiety levels and help with sleep quality. Exercise lowers cortisol; it produces endorphins aka the happy hormones, and this all tires up the body in the right way. 

On the other hand, exercising too close to bed can cause the opposite effect, and can make it harder to fall asleep. Is simple exercising moderate earlier in the day, like a brisk walk, yoga, or swimming.

Need more help, seek a professional

If you have noticed that your anxiety is adversely affecting your sleep and everyday life, you may want to consider reaching out to a healthcare provider. 

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is a type of therapy that addresses the negative thoughts associated with our anxiety surrounding sleep. 

They may also offer prescription medication to aid in anxiety or sleep related issues but you should also go to a doctor about a prescription as some would work better for you than others.

Conclusion: Getting Better Sleep with an Anxiety Disorder

Improve Sleep Quality With Anxiety Disorder: While it may feel complicated to change sleep patterns with an anxiety disorder, there are definitely ways to do it. 

Combining mental and physical approaches to sleep helps break the cycle of anxiety and poor sleep. 

Whether it involves your bedtime routine, your sleep environment, or your stress levels, here are some ways to make better sleep a part of your life.

Remember, consistency is key. Following these tips consistently and over time will lessen the effect of anxiety on your sleep, and return your energy. 

If you are slowing down, do not be afraid to ask for professional help. Quality sleep is one of the pillars of quality of life, and in appropriate conditions, you can sleep well even having an anxiety disorder.