Sleep Anxiety: Understand It, Overcome It
A good night’s sleep is essential for optimal health and well-being, but sleep anxiety can interfere with getting the appropriate number of “Zs” each night. While no one seems to be immune from an occasional sleepless night or two, routinely being restless enough that you can’t sleep or suffering from a sleep anxiety disorder is altogether different.
More than 40 million Americans suffer from chronic sleep disorders at any one time, and around half that number report having sleep troubles occasional, according to recent figures from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Sleep anxiety is a leading cause of sleep disorders, and for those whose sleeping difficulties are caused by anxiety disorders, the problem is merely exacerbated.
What is Sleep Anxiety?
Sleep anxiety disorders are caused or worsened by anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, social anxiety disorders and phobias specific to the sufferer. Anxiety disorders are real medical conditions with real symptoms – but they can oftentimes be treated successfully.
Sleep anxiety disorders are characterized by the inability to achieve a normal sleep pattern to the extent that not sleeping interferes with a person’s physical, mental or emotional well-being and functionality. People who have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, waking too early in the morning, or those who fail to feel refreshed upon waking often suffer from what is clinically known as insomnia.
In the case of sleep and anxiety disorders, it is unclear in many cases if anxiety causes the sleeping disorder or if the sleep disorder causes the anxiety. These findings are related to what we know about the brain when deprived of sleep: lack of sleep works to stimulate the part of the brain that is associated with anxiety, depression and disorders of a psychiatric nature.
Living With Sleep Anxiety Disorders
Insomnia, for those living with sleep anxiety disorders, is a vicious cycle full of excessive stress, continual worries, obsessive thinking patterns, difficulties of the gastrointestinal tract, and frequent nightmares. Many people who are being treated for anxiety are prescribed medications like antidepressants that can cause sleeping problems as well.
Sleep disorders and sleep anxiety disorders can put the sufferer at risk for other health problems, reduced performance at work or school, and enhanced risk of injury – both to themselves or to others (when operating a motor vehicle, for instance).
Natural Treatments for Sleep Anxiety Disorders
Sleep disorders and sleep anxiety disorders are commonly treated with medication, cognitive behavioral therapies, and relaxation therapies. While it’s important that you seek the medical opinion of your family doctor or other healthcare professional if you believe that you suffer from sleep anxiety, a sleep disorder, or both, there are also some natural treatments and behavior/lifestyle modifications that can work to alleviate the sleep and anxiety symptoms that you have, including:
- Meditation. Focus during meditation on your own breathing; inhale and exhale slowly and deeply. Visualize a serene environment, such as a special place that made you feel safe as a child, a favorite vacation destination, a deserted island, or a serene park. Meditation for as long as it takes for you to feel calm and less anxious.
- Exercise. Regular exercise is good for both your physical and mental health and can provide a means for you to relieve your worries while releasing endorphins that enhance your mood, which can improve your sleep anxiety.
- Try yoga. Yoga is a wonderful way to focus on what is really important in life and can be a great way to get in shape while treating your anxiety naturally.
- Play music. Music that is soft and calming can do so much for the body and mind – including lowering your blood pressure. Music therapy is often undertaken to treat sleep anxiety.
- Volunteer. Whether you offer to help your neighbor with some gardening, or volunteer your time at a local charity, focusing your anxiety elsewhere will take your mind off of your existing worries, helping to treat your sleeping anxiety.
