Do you ever wake up with racing thoughts and anxiety?

[jamie]

The racing thoughts ive had and the anxiety i have had but the anxiety isnt like severe to where i cant breathe its just i can definitely feel it. I wake up in the middle of the night and will statt thinking about really horrible stuff that has happenend in the past and it keeps me awake. Does anyone else experience this? If so do you know how to make the thoughts go away or how to not think about stuff

[UnknownPerson]

What you are describing is a moderate to severe form of anxiety. I classify it as this because it is enough to wake you up and keep you up in the middle of the night. I am also curious, do you ever experience anxiety or panic attacks? Now this does not have to be at night, just any time, daytime or nighttime? If so when does it occur, how often does it occur, and how severe is each occurrence?

As to answering your question specifically, what can you do to help this problem. I would say that one major change you could make is to make sure each and every night you are going to sleep peacefully, in a peaceful environment, and in a peaceful state of mind.

So first, make sure you sleeping arrangements are peaceful. What is the room temperature? Typically you want the place where you sleep to be about 5 degrees colder than what is comfortable. The colder environment induces a heavier sleep that is less easily interrupted. Make sure where you sleep that there is not excessive lighting or lights that are on. Do your best to keep electronics away from where you sleep. No TV, no phone, no laptop, no computer, etc.

Secondly, are you going to sleep in a peaceful state of mind? What does it take to achieve a peaceful state of mind? First you must not go to bed angry or upset with anyone. If you are having an issue or fighting, work it out before you go to bed. Know that everything is okay before you rest your eyes. Secondly, are you going to bed with a racing mind or a tired mind? Another thing you do not want to do is go to bed with a racing mind. Do exercises, meditation, yoga, read a book etc. to calm you mind before bed. Try to avoid texting, getting on social media, surfing the internet, watching TV, watching a movie, playing video games, etc. right before going to bed. You should have a 30-60 minute frame of time before bed that you just spend relaxing, away from all electronics together. Most electronics, watching TV, movies, the internet, games, all stimulate your mind and make falling asleep, staying asleep, and having a deep sleep very difficult.

Third, you should always go to sleep knowing that you were well nourished throughout the day. Never eat a full meal right before you go to sleep. This will not only cause you to sleep poorly however it is not good for your body, and your body has difficulties metabolizing the food. If you are hungry before bed, good snacks include something light such as small portions of fruit, yogurt, a glass of milk, oatmeal, toast, or a small portion of nuts like almonds or pistachios. If you are not hungry, another good sleep aid that I have read about and observed over the years is to drink a tall, cool glass of water (16-20 fluid ounces).

If you follow these three guidelines that I have provided you with, I guarantee that you will sleep a lot better. If you are sleeping better, and you have laid your mind to rest each night, the waking up should stop as well as the anxious thoughts. Just remember the three things 1.) have a peaceful sleeping environment 2.) go to bed in a peaceful state of mind & 3.) eat a light healthy snack or drink a tall glass of cold water before laying down.


Besides the sleeping pointers, I would also say to consult your primary care physician to discuss a potential plan of action to help your anxiety in general, day or night. Likely the physician will recommend talking with a therapist to discuss non-medicinal ways to help you with your anxiety as well as things you can do everyday that may help you at home, work, school, or wherever you may be. The second thing I think a physician may recommend is a medicine to help with your anxiousness if he/she believes it too be overwhelming and disrupting you from living normally.

Hope my answer can somewhat help you out! Best of luck to you! Hang in there, you will get things sorted out eventually!