Ways to Prevent Anxiety From Ruining Your Sleep
If you find it difficult to fall asleep at night, you aren’t alone. Anxiety, worry, and fear are all connected to sleep and can cause you to toss and turn for hours every night. According to the Sleep Foundation, individuals that have anxiety disorders are more likely to battle sleep problems when they are stressed and overwhelmed.
Luckily, there are several things you can do to prevent anxiety from ruining your sleep each night. Here are several of them.
Avoid Screens
No matter if you are looking at a cell phone, TV, laptop, or another mobile device, the blue light emitted from these devices can affect your sleep and cause your mind to keep spinning. Not only does the light confuse your body and cause you to believe it is time to wake up, but you may also stumble across content that can engage your mind. You may view a news headline that spikes your anxiety, read a social media post that causes anger, etc.
Improve Your Sleeping Environment
To help you get a good’s night sleep and combat anxiety, you need to create the ultimate sleeping environment. To do this, you must evaluate multiple aspects of your room. For example, you want to make sure your bed is comfortable and cool. You can do this by investing in a quality mattress or a cooling mattress pad. Cooling pillows, such as Cool-Jam’s Cooling Carbon LT Pillow features memory foam to help relieve your pressure points but it is also made using carbon-infused foam which dissipates heat, reduces sweat, and keeps you feeling refreshed.
What you wear is also important if you are trying to create a cool and comfortable sleeping environment. You want to wear moisture-wicking pajamas for women and cool pajamas for men that will keep you comfortable and dry all night long. Plus, there are all types of styles, patterns, and colors of these cool pajamas, so you can remain fashionable and trendy throughout the night.
Take Care of Your Body
If you want to improve your quality of sleep each night and reduce your anxiety, you must begin the process during the day. Your habits and actions while you are awake will contribute greatly to your quality of sleep. For example, regular exercise has been found to reduce anxiety levels and it will help to tire your body out, making it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.
You also want to avoid bad habits such as smoking and consuming an excessive amount of alcohol. These are not only going to increase your anxiety levels but affect other aspects of your health as well. Additionally, what you eat right before bed also plays a large role in how quickly you fall asleep, and the quality of sleep you receive each night.
Participate in Relaxation Techniques
Another excellent way to prevent anxiety from disrupting your sleep is to complete several relaxation exercises right before bed. These exercises may include deep breathing, guided meditation, yoga, etc., — essentially any type of movement that causes your body to relax and feel calm. These exercises will help to clear your mind and, when done consistently, can help your body recognize that it is time to go to sleep.
You might also try TouchPoints for Sleep. Shortlisted as TIME's Best Invention of the Year! TouchPoints for Sleep help with the two most common sleep issues - difficulty falling asleep at night and going back to sleep after waking up at 2AM. TouchPoints' proprietary neuroscience technology uses gentle, alternating micro-vibrations to get you back into calm, sleep mode in seconds.
If you have difficulty falling asleep, simply place your TouchPoints inside the included zippered sweatbands on your wrists or ankles 30 minutes before bedtime. When you begin feeling drowsy, turn your TouchPoints off and fall into a restful sleep. (It’s not a problem if you fall asleep with your TouchPoints on.) TouchPoints for Sleep have a built in 30 minute timer so you don't have to worry about turning them off once you fall into your restful night's sleep. If you tend to wake up in the middle of the night and can’t go back to sleep, keep your TouchPoints charged and on your nightstand. When you wake up, simply choose your setting (most people prefer slow), insert your TouchPoints into the zippered bands and slide onto wrists or ankles.
Remember that your body needs sleep to function. Even the slightest bit of sleep deprivation can affect your mood, immunity, memory, and much more. If your anxiety is causing significant sleep troubles, visit with your doctor about personalized treatment options.
