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0 By Shae Hansen
Ever have those nights when you are so caught up in worrying about things in your life that sleep just doesn’t happen? I’ve had so many of those nights that I lost count about ten years ago. Anxiety doesn’t leave me alone, not even to get a thoroughly needed night’s sleep. There are so many things to worry about in life, and anxiety seems to like to grab onto them and squeeze every ounce of worry it can out of the worrisome things. How in the world do you function if anxiety keeps you awake at night?
When anxiety keeps you awake
Well, in dealing with, and accepting my anxiety I’ve picked up some tips and tricks along the way so that I don’t go insane from lack of sleep, weird mood swings, irrational fears, and all the other fun stuff that is included in my anxiety package. In this particular post, I’m just going to focus on the ways I’ve found to help me sleep even though my mind wants to stay up and worry about life.
1. Melatonin
Melatonin is a natural supplement that promotes sleep. I usually get the kind that dissolves on the tongue. After I take melatonin, I’m usually asleep within a half hour. Having a regular sleep schedule along with taking melatonin has greatly improved my quality and quantity of sleep.
2. Take a Bath/Shower a Few Hours Before Bed
I’ve found that when I take a nice hot shower or bath a few hours before I go to bed, I am able to relax more in bed and therefore fall asleep faster. It can’t be just before I go to bed, or I get really hot and it takes me a while to cool down. I always sleep better when I am cool. That’s why I leave that window of time in between my shower and when I go to bed.
3. Sleeping with a Fan on
As mentioned above, I sleep better when my body is cool. When I have a fan on at night I have a breeze on me that is continually keeping me cool. Also, when I focus on the white noise of the fan while falling asleep, my mind doesn’t have the chance to think about things that might keep me up. I’ve known people to use the TV or stereo for this purpose as well.
4. Keep a Journal
While staying up at night worrying about things, I’ve often wondered if it would “empty my head” and help me sleep if I kept a “worry” journal. I finally decided to try it and I couldn’t believe how much of a difference it made. Writing down my present fears seemed to calm my anxiety a bit. It was as if my mind was afraid I would forget all of the things I had to be anxious about so it never let me stop thinking about them. Writing down what I am worried about acknowledges my worries in a more permanent way than trying to remember everything in my head.
5. Sleep-Promoting Essential Oils
Essential oils have increased in popularity so much over the last while. Why? Well, in my opinion, because they actually help people without the need of seeing a doctor. All-natural healing has become huge. To help me sleep at night I usually use lavender essential oil. Not only does lavender help with sleep, it also reduces stress. Besides lavender there is marjoram, valerian, and chamomile. All of these essential oils reduce stress and anxiety as well as relax the body and mind. When I am having a hard time sleeping because of anxiety, these help so much. I usually put lavender oil in my diffuser right before I go to bed every night, even if I’m not feeling particularly anxious about anything.
There’s nothing like having a restful night’s sleep
Putting these tricks into action has helped me so much. There’s nothing like having a restful night’s sleep to help keep your anxiety in check. While anxiety is not a very easy thing to overcome, there are many ways to keep it from ruling your life. It’s a constant struggle. I have to work very hard to keep mine in check, and even then, it can sneak up on me when I least expect it.
I hope this post helped you in managing your anxiety. I’m always happy to hear from you. I’d love to know how you help manage your anxiety! Please feel free to comment! Also, please share this post. I hope to aid as many people as I can with managing anxiety. I love you guys! Good luck to you all.
-Shae
Reproduced with permission, originally published here
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