How to Stop Anxiety at Night
Get out of bed., Try a quick distraction., Identify your anxieties., Write your anxieties in a journal., Play calming sounds in the background.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Get out of bed.
If you wake up because anxiety or panic, or you feel anxiety at night, don’t stay in bed.
Your bed should be a comfortable, calming place where you sleep.
If you lie in bed, tossing and turning with anxiety, your bed may begin to be a place that causes you even more anxiety.When you can’t sleep, go sit or lay in a different place in your home.
Sit in a chair, lay on your couch, or stretch out on the floor.
If you lie there for 20 to 30 minutes, get up and go somewhere else.
You can return to bed after you calm again. -
Step 2: Try a quick distraction.
Sometimes, distraction can work help with night time anxiety.
Sometimes, distractions cause more anxiety because you consciously are thinking about making yourself get over your anxiety.
You can try to distract yourself at first.
Put on the television, read, or do something else to distract yourself.However, if you aren’t distracted within five to 10 minutes, stop trying to distract yourself.
Instead, find another way to deal with your anxiety. , One thing that might help you stop being anxious at night is figuring out what is causing you anxiety.
This helps you deal with it before you try to go to sleep, or be able to put it out of your head until the morning.
When you identify your anxieties, you can decide if it’s something you can deal with tonight or if it is out of your control until the morning.For example, you may feel anxiety about going to sleep because you suffer from insomnia.
You may also just suffer from general anxiety, so your brain is a violent whirl of emotions and thoughts. , Facing your anxieties and putting them down on paper can help you work through them.
Writing them down can help you take control over them by pulling them from your head onto the sheet of paper.
After writing in the journal, you can try to look at them and tell yourself how the anxieties are irrational.
You may also try to throw the thoughts away by leaving them on the page instead of your head.When you write in the journal, write down what you are doing, where you are, and if you are alone.
List any triggers that may have caused the anxiety.
Write down thoughts you had before you started feeling anxious.
What are you thinking now while you are anxious? Write down what you are trying to do to calm yourself.
Explore why the anxieties aren’t realistic or rational.
Even if you don’t believe it at the moment, just write how you are thinking unrealistic, negative thoughts. , Soothing noises can help calm your mind and help you fall asleep.
Playing white noise can help distract your mind and senses away from your anxieties.
Try soothing sounds, like rainfall or ocean waves.
You can also try calming music that won’t get you wound up, or even talk radio or podcasts.You can buy CDs or download mp3s that feature sounds or music just for sleep relaxation.
You can also find these kinds of songs on YouTube or other places online.
Make sure you play them at a really low volume so you are not disturbing yourself. -
Step 3: Identify your anxieties.
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Step 4: Write your anxieties in a journal.
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Step 5: Play calming sounds in the background.
Detailed Guide
If you wake up because anxiety or panic, or you feel anxiety at night, don’t stay in bed.
Your bed should be a comfortable, calming place where you sleep.
If you lie in bed, tossing and turning with anxiety, your bed may begin to be a place that causes you even more anxiety.When you can’t sleep, go sit or lay in a different place in your home.
Sit in a chair, lay on your couch, or stretch out on the floor.
If you lie there for 20 to 30 minutes, get up and go somewhere else.
You can return to bed after you calm again.
Sometimes, distraction can work help with night time anxiety.
Sometimes, distractions cause more anxiety because you consciously are thinking about making yourself get over your anxiety.
You can try to distract yourself at first.
Put on the television, read, or do something else to distract yourself.However, if you aren’t distracted within five to 10 minutes, stop trying to distract yourself.
Instead, find another way to deal with your anxiety. , One thing that might help you stop being anxious at night is figuring out what is causing you anxiety.
This helps you deal with it before you try to go to sleep, or be able to put it out of your head until the morning.
When you identify your anxieties, you can decide if it’s something you can deal with tonight or if it is out of your control until the morning.For example, you may feel anxiety about going to sleep because you suffer from insomnia.
You may also just suffer from general anxiety, so your brain is a violent whirl of emotions and thoughts. , Facing your anxieties and putting them down on paper can help you work through them.
Writing them down can help you take control over them by pulling them from your head onto the sheet of paper.
After writing in the journal, you can try to look at them and tell yourself how the anxieties are irrational.
You may also try to throw the thoughts away by leaving them on the page instead of your head.When you write in the journal, write down what you are doing, where you are, and if you are alone.
List any triggers that may have caused the anxiety.
Write down thoughts you had before you started feeling anxious.
What are you thinking now while you are anxious? Write down what you are trying to do to calm yourself.
Explore why the anxieties aren’t realistic or rational.
Even if you don’t believe it at the moment, just write how you are thinking unrealistic, negative thoughts. , Soothing noises can help calm your mind and help you fall asleep.
Playing white noise can help distract your mind and senses away from your anxieties.
Try soothing sounds, like rainfall or ocean waves.
You can also try calming music that won’t get you wound up, or even talk radio or podcasts.You can buy CDs or download mp3s that feature sounds or music just for sleep relaxation.
You can also find these kinds of songs on YouTube or other places online.
Make sure you play them at a really low volume so you are not disturbing yourself.
About the Author
Nancy Gomez
Enthusiastic about teaching hobbies techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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