Guide to Reduce Anxiety Before Falling Asleep

If you suffer from anxiety, you know that there is no time allotted when anxiousness or fear grips your body. It can happen when fixing breakfast while driving in traffic, and especially when you get to the office. Anxiety can come on suddenly and last long enough to feel like you are having a breakdown. It is even more challenging when you suffer from anxiety and can’t fall asleep at night. Continue reading to discover more about anxiety and earn some good habits that will help reduce anxiety before you fall asleep.

Anxiety is a feeling of dread, gloom, doom, and fear. It can cause various symptoms such as a rapid heartbeat, tenseness, sleeplessness, sweating, and more.

In some cases, anxiety is normal. It is how we respond to stress. A time when anxiety is normal comes when situations like having oral surgery, playing in a championship game, or speaking in front of a crowd of people. Those are all normal stress-enduring activities. However, anxiety disorders happen to some when there aren’t any stressful situations going on. Those times can cause you to feel paralyzed by fear.

Some different types of anxiety disorders are:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

When a person fears common issues such as work, money, and illnesses, it usually lasts three months or more.

Panic Disorder

It involves a person who suffers from panic attacks, sudden and repeated occurrences of intense fear when there is no danger.

Phobias

Phobias happen when a person has an intense fear of something that poses very little harm. Their fears can be spiders, crowded places, heights, small spaces, etc.

In addition to tricks like meditation and writing down what worries you to help with anxieties at night, other practices will help with anxiety. They are:

Dedicate Time for Winding Down

Dedicating time to winding down is a great way to avoid anxiety before bed. In addition to having that dedicated time to unwind, having a schedule for your evening also helps ensure that you have everything done as planned.

Therefore, to create a good schedule with dedicated time for winding down, first decide how much sleep you need to have optimal performance the next day. That should give you an idea of what time you want to get into bed. Your unwinding time should include only doing things that are relaxing, i.e., taking a hot bubble bath, reading a novel or magazine, or writing in a journal. The idea is to plan your time so that you aren’t working or causing yourself any stress before bed. Having a healthy bedtime routine will help you sleep instead of sitting anxiously.

Avoid Caffeine at Night

Caffeine has been shown to interfere with our melatonin rhythms and delay sleep onset. That is why it should be avoided late in the evening and at night. In addition to coffee, certain teas, sodas, and even chocolates contain caffeine, so they should all be avoided.

Research has also shown that caffeine interferes with circadian melatonin rhythms4, delaying the onset of sleep if consumed close to bedtime. Circadian rhythms are physiological patterns, like our sleep-wake cycle, that operate on a 24-hour clock.

Instead of caffeine, you may be a candidate for a CBD product to help you relax and sleep. Talking to a person knowledgeable in CBD is vital, and knowing dispensary etiquette is beneficial to finding good products to help with your anxiety at night.

Limit Evening Screen Time

Television, computers, and smartphones all contain a blue light that does something to the brain that messes with our sleep ability. The blue light blocks the hormone melatonin, which helps us go to sleep. Many people are decorating without adding a television in their bedrooms because of the harm of blue lights.

Therefore, it is essential to limit screen time in the evening. To help, determine what time you will go to bed and avoid screens for the two hours before bed.

Avoid Stressful Activities Before Bed

Some things naturally create stress. Things like paying bills, determining a budget, and having a serious conversation with an ex can all induce stress. When they can be avoided before bed, it is essential to do so. Creating tension before bed will leave you feeling exhausted and anxious.

Conclusion

As you have read, there is no optimal time for anxiety to rear its head. You know that your anxiety can strike up at any time and last as long as it wants. When anxiety shows up at night, it keeps many people awake. However, I have listed a few ways above that will help you deal with anxiety in the evenings before bed. These tips will help those who suffer get to sleep without anxiety.

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