Anxiety And Sleep

Anxiety And Sleep

Among the many things that can cause insomnia, anxiety is the number one culprit. No matter how tired your mind and body may feel, when the house gets quiet, and you get still, your mind will go into overdrive -- with worry -- if you are suffering from anxiety.

This happens because there is nothing else to occupy our minds. During the day, we have tasks and activities that keep our minds engaged and away from worry in many cases. But at night, when all gets quiet, our minds are free to focus on other worries.

Your first instinct may be to ask your doctor for sleeping pills, and there are many good sleeping pills available on the market that are mild enough to help you sleep, but gentle enough that you don't feel drugged the next morning. The newer sleeping pills are even nonaddictive, making them great to use for temporary insomnia or long-term insomnia.

However, there are some things that you can try before you turn to chemical help as well. Taking a hot bath before bedtime helps many people. Beware, however, that for some people, taking a hot bath only serves to further energize the mind and body. It has a different effect on different people.

You can learn some deep breathing exercises that you can practice when you lie down in bed at night. With deep breathing exercises, your mind will be focused on the breathing, and not have any room to focus on worries. The breathing will make it easier to fall asleep.

You should also have a regular bedtime, and a regular wakeup time. Try not to stay up past the bedtime that you have set for yourself, and don't sleep past your usual wakeup time. This puts your body on a schedule, and even if your mind is worried, your body has a better chance of taking over and sticking to its schedule.

Finally, make some gentle noise. Turn a fan on. It doesn't have to be blowing on you -- it is the gentle noise from the fan that you need. When you lay down, focus your attention on the hum of the fan. You can also try to bore yourself to sleep with a book. The book should be boring. The process of reading will occupy your mind, but the boring book will have your eyes closing before you know it.