How to manage sleep anxiety
Aside from the main symptom of not being able to fall asleep, or constantly waking up throughout the night, sleep anxiety has very similar symptoms to general anxiety disorders. Sleep deprivation can have a huge impact on your health and wellbeing, and sleep anxiety can make it difficult, even impossible, to have get a good night's sleep. Studies have shown that singular stressful events, like taking an exam, have little impact on your cortisol levels and they soon return to normal. This suggests that a night of tossing and turning the day before a job interview might be a one off, but facing stress every day — like being stressed about lack of sleep — has a significant impact on your sleep cycle.
The first step is to identify what's causing your lack of sleep. Is it stress at work, or in your relationship? Is it past injury? Is it bad dreams making you want to put off sleeping so they don't keep recurring? Try to understand why you find it a struggle to sleep.
If nightmares and sleep paralysis are stopping you from sleeping, you might think there's nothing you can do to calm your subconscious — but there are things you can try that can make your dreams more positive. . Studies have shown that people with a better "peace of mind" have more positive dreams, whereas symptoms of anxiety related to negative dreams. Cognitive behavioural therapy, CBT, teaches you to change the way you think in order to change your behaviour. It could help you understand how sleep anxiety is affecting your body and brain, avoid things that trigger your anxiety and make sleep impossible, and help change the negative way you view sleep.
Sometimes, less is more, and perhaps trying too hard to force yourself to sleep with a 20-step bedtime routine could be adding to the pressure and anxiety you're feeling, and have the opposite affect that you want. If you usually try to sleep in a warm room with a hot water bottle, try lowering the temperature. Sleeping in a colder room prevents cortisol levels rising, and helps your body release melatonin instead, which helps you sleep — this is why it's often so difficult to sleep during a heatwave.
A. These can be listed as follows.
B. If It's not working, it's time to try something new.
C. Take a comfortable sleeping position, ideally on your back.
D. This can help you deal with the anxiety surrounding it and then end the hatred cycle.
E. However, chronic stress and anxiety can make the increase in the hormone last a long time.
F. Try some mindful techniques as part of your bedtime routine as well as throughout the day.
G. These include a continual feeling of unease, increased heart rate, sweating, and tensed muscles
