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Why Do I Feel More Anxious at Night?

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According to various surveys, people frequently report that their anxiety symptoms that include worry (obsessing) are worse when trying to fall asleep at night than during the working/waking day.  

“Anxiety can surface at any time, but there are a few reasons it may feel more intense at bedtime, said Candice Alfano, director of the Sleep and Anxiety Center of Houston at the University of Houston. “Most of us are incredibly busy during the waking hours; our attention is pulled in many different directions, so we have limited time to think about our worries,” she said. “But at night, while we lie in bed, there are few distractions from the thoughts that make us anxious.”… This can lead to a frustrating conundrum: We can’t sleep because those anxious thoughts are making us think we are unsafe, which makes us more alert by raising our heart rates and tightening our muscles…. Essentially, the body can’t quite tell if the source of our troubles is a physical threat, like a tiger about to pounce, or an upcoming presentation you’re nervous about making at work — it just gets the memo to stay awake…. “At a basic level,” Dr. Pelayo said, “feeling in danger or under stress are the same to the brain.”  And the problems becomes like a vicious cycle:  anxious thoughts disturb sleep and then coping skills decrease due to the lack of sleep and then the next night’s sleep becomes worse and so on.   The beauty of this article is that it provides a reasonably good explanation of the problem.  Even better: the article provides a number of ways to improve sleep and then reduce the worries and anxiety.

SOURCE

New York Times, March 23, 2023, by Kiera Carter

LINK TO RESOURCE

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/23/well/mind/anxiety-night-sleep.html?smid=em-share

(Tiny URL)  https://tinyurl.com/ycxn78s4

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

•According to the article:  why is anxiety worse at night for some individuals?

•Explain how nighttime anxiety and sleep disruption can become a vicious cycle.

•If you were a therapist,  what steps would you tell your client to take to improve sleep and overcome nighttime anxiety and worry?