How To Calm Your Anxiety at Night and Overcome Insomnia

Do you toss and turn at night, unable to quiet your anxious thoughts and drift into peaceful slumber? If you’re struggling with insomnia, you’re not alone. Around one-third of Americans suffer from one or more sleep disorders. 

Our board-certified providers and therapist at Desert Bolt Behavioral in Phoenix, Arizona, are here to help. We offer personalized help for anxiety and insomnia so that you can get the sleep you need. 

We also believe in the power of patient education, so we’re exploring the link between anxiety and insomnia and the ways you can calm your thoughts and get some rest. 

Understanding insomnia

Do you have difficulty falling asleep, wake up frequently, or feel unrested after a night’s sleep? Insomnia is more than occasional sleeplessness — it’s a consistent struggle that affects your mood, energy levels, and overall well-being. 

Causes vary but often include stress, poor sleep habits, or underlying health issues. If you’re experiencing symptoms of insomnia, getting professional insight and help can go a long way toward making your nights more restful.

Understanding nighttime anxiety

Your bedtime should be soothing, not a time for worrying. But nighttime anxiety often slips in, disrupting this tranquil period. 

Anxiety frequently intensifies at night, since the quiet and stillness of night contrast with the busyness of daytime activities. This can lead to a heightened awareness of your thoughts and feelings. 

With fewer distractions, your mind has the freedom to roam. For anxiety sufferers, this can cause anxious thoughts to spiral.

The link between anxiety and insomnia

It’s not surprising if you’re having trouble calming your mind and find it’s causing sleepless nights. There's a strong link between anxiety and insomnia, with each condition often making the other worse. 

The lack of external stimuli at night means you might become more tuned in to your internal sensations. Anxiety sufferers often report heightened sensitivity to their heartbeat, breathing rate, or other physical sensations during the night, making feelings of anxiety worse and falling asleep difficult.

This insomnia leads to fatigue and tiredness, affecting your emotional regulation and making you more susceptible to anxiety and stress. Plus, when you're tired, you might find it challenging to use coping strategies that help manage anxiety effectively.

There’s also a significant element of expectation. If you’ve experienced anxiety at night before, you might anticipate and dread the recurrence of these feelings as bedtime approaches. 

This expectation can heighten anxiety, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy where worry leads to more worry, making it even more difficult to get to sleep or stay asleep. You become trapped in a cycle of nighttime anxiety and insomnia.

It’s a vicious circle: Anxiety can set your mind racing, making it nearly impossible to fall asleep. In turn, lack of sleep increases anxiety levels. 

Tips for calming nighttime anxiety

We have a few self-help strategies you might try to ease anxiety and improve sleep. 

Deep breathing and meditation can calm your racing mind. Dietary changes that include sleep-promoting foods can help. And you might also consider keeping a sleep journal to identify patterns or triggers for your sleeplessness. 

Physical activity during the day can tire you out so you sleep better, but avoid strenuous exercise close to bedtime. Finally, create a bedtime ritual that signals your body when it's time to wind down. 

Small changes like these can sometimes significantly improve your sleep quality and anxiety levels. 

How we can help calm your thoughts and restore your sleep

At Desert Bolt Behavioral, we offer personalized support to help you manage both nighttime anxiety and insomnia. 

We review your symptoms, consider your medical history and overall health, and order any tests necessary to get to the root cause of your anxiety and insomnia. Then we create a tailored treatment plan to calm your thoughts and restore your sleep. 

For many patients with anxiety and insomnia, cognitive behavioral therapy can be a game-changer. This therapy helps you understand and change your thought and behavior patterns, leading to significant improvements in sleep quality.

Medications may also play a role in managing your anxiety and ending sleepless nights. At Desert Bolt Behavioral, we assess your specific situation, exploring medication options that could offer the relief you need without unwanted side effects.

Facing nights filled with anxiety and insomnia is hard, but with the right support and treatment, restful nights are within your reach. Get started by scheduling a consultation at our Phoenix, Arizona, practice.