Anxiety is a type of emotion that most of us sometime or even frequently have experienced and dealt with. Anxiety is a state of mind which causes inner turmoil and nervousness. For example it is a feeling that you get before you participate in a sport event or examination. In fact anxiety becomes a source of excitement and inspiration to move forward in all circumstances. Hence to a certain extent anxiety can be your best friend. At the same time it can be your worst enemy, especially when you become anxious at night.
Anxiety during night is worse than during daytime. It interrupts your sleep. It can make you feel helpless and horrified besides causing rapid heartbeat, excessive sweating, and breathlessness. Anxiety may develop due to many reasons, but night time anxiety often is caused by sleep disorders. When anxiety becomes chronic state it can cause disruption in daily life.
Causes Of Anxiety At Nighttime
Waking up with feeling anxious at night can ruin your whole night. You are feeling worried and panicky. You may not even get back to sleep even if you are feeling sleepy.
- Nightmares: Nightmares are disturbing dreams that often awaken you from your sleep. It can make a person panicky and anxious. It may be due to the hyperventilation stage that may occur during the dream. This condition is often associated with stressful situation that you may have felt during the daytime.
- Sleep apnea: Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder which often wakes you from sleep at night with a feeling of anxiety. In this disorder the airway of the person gets obstructed for a fraction of second. This develops because in some people the muscles of throat get relaxed. Obese people are more likely to suffer from sleep apnea.
- Alcohol: Alcohol consumption before sleeping can disturb your sleep to a great extent. Once your sleep is disturbed you are likely to become anxious. At night your room is dark and everything seems more tragic when it is dark. Besides everyone else is sleeping and you feel lonelier in dark. This may make you feel anxious.
During night people feel more anxious because there is complete quietness and no one else is there to cause distraction. Darkness and isolation are some other factors that may be the root cause of anxiety at night upon waking.
How To Treat And Prevent Anxiety At Night?
If you are becoming anxious and panicky regularly at night or you sleep is disrupted due to frequent awakening here are some preventive measures that can help:
- Avoid drinking caffeinated products such as coffee etc before going to sleep. Caffeine is known to cause insomnia.
- Do not go to bed unless you are feeling sleepy. If you are not sleepy at night, go to another room or do something that keeps your mind busy. This way you will be able to prevent negative thoughts entering into your mind.
- Try to stay relaxed when you are anxious at night. Let anxiety slow down gradually. During this period you can try meditation therapy as it helps to calm your mind and also help to get sleep.
- Vallerian root or St John’s wort is time tested natural remedy for anxiety. Drink tea prepared from this natural substances in evening. However, before using these substances, check with your doctor.
- Avoid watching TV serials at night that are scary. This may lead to anxiety at night.