By now it’s no secret that I’ve been dealing with a plethora
of issues increasing my anxiety. I tend to first realize I’m dealing with high
anxiety when my sleep starts to suffer. That’s one of the primary complaints I
hear when people come to counseling services for anxiety, as well. Let’s take a
look at the dos and don’ts of sleep hygiene to try touch on what might be
helpful in treating anxiety-related sleep disturbance.
The Anxious Sleeper Do’s
DO:
Write a List
My number one go-to for anyone suffering from disturbed
sleep due to anxiety is creating a list. The list will have everything that
could possibly be on your mind either right at that moment, later in the
evening as you lay awake trying to fall asleep, or when you wake up in a panic
from sleep. This could include the tasks you have to get done at work the next
day, the errands you have to run on your lunch break, the housework you plan on
completing, the people you have to reach out to in the morning, the interview
you’re going on next week, your family member’s health, your future goals…the
list goes on and on.
Write your list while you sit on your bed, preparing to lie
down. Once you have your list written out, ask yourself what you can do about
each item. Some you may be able to do something for, others you may not. For
those you cannot take an action to resolve, write yourself a note to let them
go for the night. For those you can do something for, write down what you’ll do
and when you’ll do it. The when is
important because you’re reminding yourself you’re not doing that action while
you’re trying to sleep.
I’m usually awoken from sleep with tasks for the next day or
week swirling in my mind. When I use this method of writing down my potential
worries before bed, I have better sleep. It really helps me let go.
Care for Your Sleeping Space
This one may be tough if you’re living in a dorm, crashing
on a couch, staying in a shelter, etc. I think it’s still worth mentioning that
if you can, give your sleeping space some care by de-cluttering, putting away
clean clothes, regularly cleaning sheets and blankets, habitually dusting and vacuuming,
minimizing electronics and lights that could disrupt sleep, and, if needed,
turning on white noise to cut your sleep space off from the rest of the world.
More about the sleeping space later, when we get to the “don’ts.”
I know I’m bad at caring for my sleeping space. I don’t put
my clothes away regularly and it’s usually one of the last spaces to be cleaned
because I’m more worried about the shared spaces others tend to see. However,
that’s not making my needs a priority, so it’s definitely a growing edge.
Have a Wind-Down Routine
Most of us lead busy lives which means going, going, going,
morning to night. The problem with doing your schoolwork five minutes to
bedtime or cleaning the day’s mess just before hitting the sheets is that you’re
keeping your mind in work mode.
Your mind is alert and task-oriented. You’ve had no time to
process the day and wind-down from it. You may not even know what’s bothering
you until you lay your head down and have the stillness to project into. By
then you’re tired and more vulnerable to anxiety because a tired mind can’t
rationalize as well as a wake mind.
I’m usually good about this. I shower and take at least a half
hour to play a game, read, or watch TV to clear my mind at night. It should be
noted, listening to music I haven’t heard in a long time apparently amps me up
too much to go to sleep because I’m just
that weird. So watch out for that if you’re also extra for no reason.
The Anxious Sleeper’s Don’ts
DON’T:
Do Everything in Your Sleeping Space
Tying into caring for your sleeping space, be mindful of
removing you’re regular daily activities from your sleeping space. Again, this
may not possible for everyone due to living situation. If you have the ability,
don’t spend hours watching TV, completing homework, practicing hobbies,
exercising, and so on, in your bedroom. When you bring regular daytime activity
into your sleeping space, you will begin to associate it with activity rather
than rest, leading to difficulty sleeping and more room for anxious thoughts to
fester while lying awake.
Do What Brings You Anxiety
If you’re worried about the state of the world, don’t read
or watch the world news right before bed. If a certain person brings you panic,
don’t talk or text with them in the evenings. If horror movies leave you
thinking of all the ways a bad guy can attack you in the night, save those for
the morning of your day off to give you plenty of time to recover from the
effects.
Bottom line—don’t do what you know will increase your
anxiety anywhere near bedtime. Take a look at your evening habits and ask
yourself if any of those could trigger anxious thoughts, nightmares, or
mid-sleep panic attacks. Remove what you identify and replace it with something
soothing.
Use Caffeine Before Bed
Caffeine is known to bad for anxiety because it’s an “upper.”
If you’re like me, you may not feel like you gain energy from caffeine, but that
doesn’t mean it isn’t still putting your brain and body in alert mode. Caffeine
is found in coffee, many teas (including green tea!), chocolate, most sodas,
energy drinks, and some medications such as those for headaches.
Try to cut out anything with caffeine for the evening time
so that your body and mind aren’t more restless and jittery than they
necessary. I’ll admit I’m not good at this one, either. I love chocolate and
sometimes I just need an evening cup of coffee. Growing edges!
The Anxious Sleeper’s Maybes
MAYBE:
Try a Relaxing Tea
There are plenty of teas marketed for sleep from the basic chamomile
to teas made with roots and herbs believed to help sleep. I consider this a “maybe”
because using these depends on the person and their unique sensitivities,
medications, preferences, and overall genetic make-up. If you do decide to try
a tea to help with sleep, it may give you an opportunity to put in place a
wind-down routine because you’ll have to set aside time to make and drink it.
Personally, I tried two different types of these teas and
found myself having worse sleep with the tea than without. However, I’m one
person with exceptionally odd reactions to many foods and medications, so why
not tea, too? I’ll leave this at a “maybe” because it may or may not work.
Talk To Your Doctor
Sleep is vital to functioning and going without it for long
periods of time can be dangerous. Listen to your body and seek a medical
opinion if it seems like the right choice for you. Your doctor may recommend
seeing a therapist or psychiatrist, taking medications, running tests, changing
your lifestyle, or other possible interventions.
As always, I’m not providing medical or clinical advice but
think it’s worth noting how vitally important sleep is. Sometimes, we need some
extra support to get sleep back on track. Maybe that means talking to a doctor
and maybe it doesn’t. You know you best. I know I haven’t breached this with a
doctor yet, because I still feel my sleep issues are temporary and situational.
I still have some work to do and some options to manage my
anxiety-interrupted sleep. How about you? What do you do to make sleep possible
when you’re anxious? What do you want to work on that you haven’t yet? Let me
know in the comments below!
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