The main points of concern for nearly 40 percent of Americans are their health, career and financial affairs. Additionally, more than 43 percent feel that life is generally becoming anxious with constant worries about the future. People worry about their ability to pay for a house, pay off debt, not earn enough to live on, and even find and keep a job. However, the biggest anxiety triggers are not the issues mentioned above, but the inability to sleep properly.
Anxiety and sleep go hand in hand. Sleep deprivation could be causing anxiety, and at the same time, anxiety could also be causing sleep deprivation. This is known as anxomnia. However, there are ways to control the situation. Some of these forms are:
- Silence the racing brain – A racing brain can rest by practicing mindfulness. Mindfulness, a therapeutic technique, is the art of focusing your thoughts on the present situation and calmly acknowledging your own feelings. This can be achieved through constant practice and patience. Racing thoughts can tire a person out by making them feel tired. Mindfulness can bring a lot of respite, calm the mind and induce sleep.
- Using Herbal Remedies Backed by Science – Consuming science-backed herbal remedies, such as valerian, is also known to be helpful. Valerian has compounds that relieve anxiety, however it does not make one feel groggy.
- Using military precision to stop – This technique is used by the US Army to fall asleep in less than two minutes in very stressful situations. In this technique, one is supposed to relax the facial muscles, including those around the eyes, jaw, and tongue. Then one should drop the shoulders, followed by the upper arm and forearm on one side. After that, one is supposed to exhale, relaxing the chest and legs working down from the hips, to the thighs, and then the feet. Followed by this, say “Don’t think, don’t think” over and over again for at least 10 seconds until the person is no longer distracted by anxious thoughts and can fall asleep.
- Breathe deeper and slower – Taking deep, slow breaths can help a person fall asleep faster if they tend to wake up at night. When we breathe shallowly, we breathe through our chest. Therefore, it is important to breathe deeply through the diaphragm. This can be achieved by placing one hand on the chest and the other on the belly. Now one should aim to inhale through the nose so that the belly rises and when one exhales the stomach should sink. One must focus on drawing more air into the abdomen, as deep breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which takes over the anxiety response associated with anxious feelings, thus inducing sleep.
- Correction of mineral and amino acid deficiency – Nighttime wakefulness is often associated with magnesium deficiency. Therefore, one should get the required tests done and have the doctor prescribe magnesium supplements. Another helpful nutrient known to ease sleep problems is 5-HTP. It is prepared from tryptophan in the body. Once ingested, 5-HTP converts to serotonin and melatonin, the body’s natural sleep hormone, inducing sleep and relieving anxiety symptoms.
- Get a little less mobility – The constant use of laptops, tablets and smartphones can also add an extra layer of stress. Therefore, one should refrain from using them during meals and should turn off all devices at least 30 minutes before going to bed.
Apart from this, eating lighter meals at night, listening to relaxing music, reading a book, dimming the lights and adjusting the room temperature to a comfortable degree can also help you fall asleep without feeling anxious.
Ask for help for anxiety
Sometimes following all the self-help methods a person knows about doesn’t help them control their anxiety symptoms or fall asleep. In such conditions, it is important to seek professional help, as it is quite possible that the insomnia is caused by other underlying factors that one might not be aware of. Meeting with a licensed mental health therapist ensures that all of those causes are determined and a mental health treatment plan is designed accordingly.