Too anxious to sleep?

Sometimes we find it hard to drift off at the end of a busy day, but for those that are suffering with anxiety it can feel almost impossible to get a good night's sleep.

No matter what you do your brain just won't shut off and you can’t drift off to sleep. It feels like the harder you try to fall asleep the harder your brain tries to stay awake, you just lay there for hours having troubling thoughts that just won’t stop.

The NHS recommend that adults get around eight hours of sleep a night, but anxiety sufferers will often get much less than this. If you’re trying to live with anxiety then you might wake up feeling groggy unrested and sluggish; meaning the day ahead of you is likely to be challenging and a brain fog is going to be holding you back.

To try and improve your sleep patterns there are things that you can do at home. To fully wind down from the day, it's important to try and build a routine that is relaxing and signals to your brain that it's bedtime. Things such as a warm bath can help relax your mind and body. Some people find reading a book helps them as it gives your brain a strong focus, but I’d recommend avoiding any subjects that are too stimulating for you.  

You should also consider your sleeping environment, make sure you are as comfortable as possible; think about bedding, clothing and even the temperature if your bedroom. Try to avoid using things like your smartphone or your laptop and stay clear of caffeine and alcohol especially in the hours leading up to falling asleep.

You could also try journalling or keeping a diary, it might help to get all the anxious thoughts down on paper and out of your mind. You might also want to include what happened during the day so you can start to see any patterns between your anxiety levels and certain tasks, events or people. However I would urge you to only do this if it feels right for you, I don’t want you to feel like it’s another ‘job’ you must do every evening especially if you feel it make give you more anxiety.

Some people also find listening to white or brown noise helps quieten anxious thoughts and have it playing when they go to bed. It can help calm your mind, as it gives your brain a focus point but it doesn’t tend to generate additional thoughts or worries. Playlists can be found on streaming services like YouTube or Spotify.

These tips might offer you some short-term relief and help you get some much-needed sleep in the next week or so. But to be able to move on and get back to being yourself you might want to consider getting support to understand and overcome your anxiety once and for all.

Hypnotherapy could support you to drift off and stop those anxious thoughts that are ruining your ability to fall and stay asleep. It can help you to learn to relax your mind as well as give you a space to talk openly and honestly about your anxieties.

Working with your hypnotherapist, you’ll be able to change your minds processes when it comes to bedtime and create new calming, soothing thoughts that will help you sleep deeply and wake up feeling rested, refreshed and optimistic about the day ahead.