Night anxiety: causes and 10 keys to overcome it

It is 2 in the morning and in 5 hours you must get up to go to work. You've been tossing and turning for two hours in bed, and no matter how hard you try, you can't fall asleep. You have tried everything to fall asleep quickly, count sheep, do method 4-7-8, etcetera, but every minute that passes you feel more distressed and more worried. You have less and less time to sleep And thinking about this keeps you more awake.

If you think this situation has happened to you, you may have suffered from nighttime anxiety, a phenomenon associated with insomnia that can appear at specific moments or for long periods of time for various reasons. In this article you can find some tips that will help you overcome this type of anxiety.

• Related article: "The 7 types of anxiety (causes and symptoms)”

When the mind does not disconnect

This unpleasant sensation can appear for different reasons, and surely you have experienced it at some time in your life. Nighttime anxiety invades you when you enter that vicious circle in which you are very clear that you must fall asleep but those negative thoughts and that anxiety only feed this situation negative.

You are sleepy, but you can't relax.

Our mind has a tendency to ruminate, and if we think more about an issue we make things worse. Once those reflections take over our attention worry seriously disrupts our ability to fall asleep.

• You may be interested: "The top 7 sleep disorders"

Causes of night anxiety

Anxiety is a totally normal and adaptive emotion, and people can experience it in our daily lives many times, but nighttime anxiety is not exactly positive. Usually is a consequence of worries that we can have regarding something that happens to us in our daily lives.

Perhaps it is a warning about something that can go wrong, and in the best case, for example, it is a way of letting us know that we should go looking for a job because we are running out of money.

But it can also happen that nighttime anxiety is a consequence of imaginary or anticipated worries that we have and that we are exaggerating, it can be a symptom of the stress that we are suffering and that prevents us from sleeping, and it can even be a consequence of performing intensity physical training just before going to bed, which activates our nervous system and, in turn, prevents us from disconnecting when we are in bed.

Tips to overcome anxiety at night

Without a doubt, suffering from this situation is unpleasant. But… Is it possible to overcome it? Below you can find some tips and habits that can get you out of this complicated situation.

1. Spot the problem

It has already been mentioned in the previous lines that nighttime anxiety can be caused by different reasons. Therefore, it is necessary to detect what is the source of the problem. Are we training at night? Are we worried about something in our life (for example, the mortgage payment)? Do we have a lot of work in our office and do we take this work home with us? Are we going through an existential crisis?

These questions can help us to know what is really happening to us, so we can solve it. For example, if we have detected that the problem is that we train at night, it may be better to train in the morning.

2. Seek psychological help

In some cases, we may not be aware of the problem, or trying to fix it may not have improved the symptoms. Then it is necessary to go to psychological therapy. An expert psychotherapist can help you to solve the problems of night anxiety and insomnia, so that you can improve your general health and regain emotional balance.

3. do exercise

Doing physical exercise is necessary because it brings many benefits not only physical, but also psychological. Studies show that playing sports improves mood by helping to release neurochemicals such as serotonin or endorphins, which make us feel good.

It also helps us reduce stress and anxiety, since reduces the presence of cortisol in our body. Also, with physical exercise you will be more tired at home and you will sleep better.

4. But... don't overtrain

Now, to prevent the nervous system from being excessively active late at night, it is better to practice sports or physical exercise in the morning or first thing in the afternoon. The important thing is to avoid exercising at night.

Likewise, it is necessary to avoid overtraining syndrome, also called staleness, which is different from physical overtraining. This condition occurs when the athlete not getting enough rest or training excessively, which has serious consequences for your mental health: feelings of emotional fatigue, lethargy, loss of vigor, insomnia, depression etc. It can be difficult to detect; however, you can learn more about this phenomenon in our article: "Overtraining syndrome: burned athletes”

5. Eat well

Food is also an important factor that determines our general well-being to a greater or lesser extent. Undoubtedly, a healthy life will promote good sleep habits, which can play an important role in preventing insomnia.

But food must be taken care of especially at night, as heavy meals can cause difficulties in falling asleep and, therefore, nighttime anxiety.

6. Beware of stimulants

Although it is true that not everyone is affected in the same way by some stimulants such as coffee or theobromine, it is always preferable not to take products that contain these substances (especially taurine) after 6 pm (when you have a normal schedule) because it can make it difficult to sleep and alter your system highly strung.

7. Practice Mindfulness

The practice of Mindfulness or Mindfulness seems to have a positive effect in combating anxiety, stress or insomnia. Mindfulness is a method that works on the ability to be aware, compassion and the ability to be present in the here and now.

Their 8-week program called “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program (MSBR)” appears to significantly improve the well-being of people who have used it. A study from the University of Utah showed that MBSR not only helps reduce stress and control anxiety, but it can help us sleep better

• Related article: "5 Mindfulness exercises to improve your emotional well-being"

8. Have a daily schedule

Insomnia and nighttime anxiety can also occur from not having a set schedule. For example, by going to bed one day at 11pm, the next at 3am and the next at 12pm. The same goes for getting up each day at a different time. It is always preferable to have a more or less fixed schedule, say from 9am to 11pm, which allows the circadian rhythm to remain unchanged and a natural and quality sleep is produced.

9. Disconnect

The schedule is often mediated many times by how we use technological devices. If we start watching a movie at 11pm, we probably won't go to bed until after 1am, which is not conducive to sleep and can cause nighttime anxiety.

In addition, scientific studies affirm that using electronic devices 30 minutes before bedtime also affects our ability to fall asleep, as seems to keep the mind stimulated due to the lighting that these devices use.

10. Use the bedroom to sleep and have intimate relationships

Experts say that the room should be used to sleep or have sex if we want to sleep better, so they do not advise having the computer in this space of the house. In addition, having the television nearby can be counterproductiveEspecially if we go to bed with the TV on.

We must also take care of the space where we sleep: a comfortable pillow, a correct temperature, etc. They are factors that can cause a poor quality of sleep and can cause us to wake up in the middle of the night and then not be able to sleep properly.