5 Tips to Calm Your Anxiety at Night
Anxiety can wreak havoc on your life at any time of day. It doesn’t have a designated timeline. However, some people tend to experience worse anxiety at night. Why? It’s fairly easy to keep yourself busy and distracted throughout the day. You can use that as a way to keep your anxiety from consuming your thoughts. At night, however, it’s a different story. You’re alone with your thoughts, trying to relax, and that could make you feel more anxious than ever.
If that sounds familiar, know that you don’t have to keep struggling with anxiety every night. There are things you can do to calm your worrying thoughts and get the rest you deserve. Let’s cover a few tips that can help.
1. Start a Journal
Sometimes, the best thing you can do to combat nighttime anxiety is to let it out. But, let’s face it, you probably don’t have someone to talk to in the middle of the night. Or, maybe you don’t want to wake anyone up to vent or share your concerns. Keeping a journal by your bedside is a great way to instantly jot down your thoughts and fears. Putting them to paper will help bring you back to reality, and you might see that your anxious thoughts aren’t as all-consuming as you first believed.
2. Have a Sleep Routine
Good sleep hygiene is essential when it comes to calming anxiety. Have a routine in place before you go to bed. Try to go to sleep around the same time each night. Make sure your environment is relaxing and calm. Consider meditating or doing some light stretching before bed to clear your mind. A sleep routine can help your mind and body connect and realize it’s time for bed, so you’re more likely to get some sleep rather than laying there with racing thoughts.
3. Move Your Body
While participating in vigorous exercise right before bed might not be a good idea, getting in a good workout during the day can make a big difference at night. Exercise has so many benefits that go beyond your physical health. It can improve your mood, reduce stress, and help with anxiety. It can also help you sleep more soundly and make it easier to fall asleep, giving your anxious thoughts less time to take hold and keep you awake. You don’t have to hit the gym for an hour each day. Find a way to stay active that you enjoy, and you’re more likely to stick with it.
4. Don’t Stay in Bed
You might think the best thing you can do to get to sleep when you’re anxious is to stay in bed and try to force yourself to sleep. Unfortunately, that’s one of the worst things you can do. The more you toss and turn, the more anxious you’ll become. It’s likely to fuel your anxiety even more. Instead, get out of bed and go to a different room. Do something calming like reading a book or journaling. When you start to feel sleepy, head back to your room and try again.
5. Avoid Electronics Before Bed
Watching television or scrolling through social media on your phone can be tempting before bed. Avoid it, if possible. Not only can the blue light from digital devices make it harder to get to sleep, but things like social media, apps, games, and TV can stimulate your brain and cause your anxious thoughts to run wild. Avoid using electronics for at least an hour before getting to sleep.
At the end of the day, getting to the root cause of your anxiety and working through it is the most effective way to manage it. Use these tips to ease your anxiety at night, but don’t hesitate to reach out for help to treat your anxiety and take control of your thoughts—and life.
If you’d like more help to get better sleep and manage your anxiety, we can help! Contact us to learn more about working with one of our skilled counselors to address your anxiety.