Understanding nighttime anxiety.
I’ve struggled with sleep in the past, waking at every hour on the hour, or had trouble getting to sleep, trying to ‘switching off’ a racing mind. I used visualisation meditations to get back to sleep. In fact, it was seeing how helpful they were, that lead me to teaching meditation to others.
Nighttime anxiety can be feelings of worry, fear, or unease that arise during the night and disrupt sleep. It can be caused by various factors, such as stress, trauma, or underlying mental health conditions like generalized anxiety or panic attacks.
You may worry or stress about being able to sleep. The anxiety over how much and how well you will sleep can itself interfere with the quantity and quality of your sleep, creating a seemingly never-ending cycle of worry and sleep problems.
When anxiety wakes you in the middle of the night, it's often due to racing thoughts, excessive worrying, or physical symptoms like a racing heart or shortness of breath. When you wake in the night it’s quieter and there’s less distractions. When you lay down to sleep it may be the first time you’ve had a moment to think and the mind goes, ‘great, let’s work out every scenario, permutation of this issue you’ve had, now we have a moment!’
We can’t expect our minds to go from busy, distracted and constantly stimulated to calm and ready for sleep. There needs to be a transition period. I say this in my meditation class. We have the first meditation just to arrive, settle and accept ourselves as we are, in the moment. It’s not normally until the second meditation that people start to actually slow down the mind and reach a place of stillness and peace. It’s exactly the same at night. So the more you prepare for sleep the more likely you are to have a peaceful night.
Creating a Relaxing Bedtime Routine
Establishing a relaxing bedtime routine can help calm your mind and promote better sleep. Engaging in healthy sleep behaviours, known collectively as 'sleep hygiene' is one of the simplest and most effective ways to improve sleep problems. Though the individual behaviours themselves are straightforward, sleep hygiene requires commitment, particularly when it comes to establishing a consistent bedtime ritual that will signal to the brain that it’s time to wind down. Be patient, most experts advise sticking to a new sleep routine for several weeks before you may notice a difference.
Consider incorporating the following practices:
Set a consistent sleep schedule, going to bed and waking up at the same time each day.
Create a soothing environment in your bedroom by keeping it cool, dark, and quiet.
Avoid stimulating activities and electronics before bed, opting for relaxing activities like reading a book or taking a warm bath.
Practice relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing exercises or a body scan to help your body and mind unwind.
Limit caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol close to bedtime, as they can interfere with sleep quality.
Helpful things to know;
An unbroken eight hours of blissful sleep is a myth.
It’s a natural, normal thing to wake up several times in the night.
Many factors like adjusting your body position, the need to urinate, a changing in the natural sleep cycles, breathing patterns altering are some of the factors that wake you from your slumber.
We have these micro-wakes in the night as we were designed to wake, scanning the environment to check for danger, then go back to sleep when we were first on the earth. It’s a survival mechanism that we still have.
If, in these micro- wakes your mind kicks in and then takes over with intrusive thoughts this is when the nighttime anxiety may keep you awake longer than you’d like.
So, what can you do at 3am?
Mindfulness and meditation are powerful tools for managing anxiety and promoting a calm mind. Consider incorporating the following practices into your sleep hygiene, or if you are awake in the night and struggling to get back to sleep:
Practice deep breathing exercises to help regulate your breathing and calm your nervous system.
Engage in guided meditation or mindfulness exercises to focus your attention on the present moment and reduce racing thoughts.
Try progressive muscle relaxation, where you systematically tense and relax your muscles to release tension from your body. Start at your toes and work your way up your body.
Use visualization techniques to imagine yourself in a peaceful and calm environment.
Use EFT tapping to help calm your mind and nervous system.
Use calming essential oils like lavender or chamomile to create a soothing atmosphere in your bedroom.
White noise or calming music. Listening to gentle sounds or soft music to promote relaxation.
Understanding the triggers and patterns of your nighttime anxiety can help you develop effective strategies to manage it and get back to sleep.
If nighttime anxiety continues to significantly impact your sleep and overall well-being, it may be beneficial to seek professional help and support.
When you lay awake at night I hope knowing some of these things may help you know you're not alone and that there are things you can do to help yourself,
Go Gently,
Karen 🌿
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