What time do you go to bed? How long do you sleep?
According to a sleep study on Australian adults’ sleep habits, the average person falls asleep a little after 11 PM. They then sleep around seven hours, waking up the next day at 6:30 AM.
However, in another sleep study, only fifty-five per cent of Aussies reported getting seven hours of average sleep time, which is the recommended amount for a good night’s sleep. Thirty-two per cent had six hours of sleep or less.
When Sleep Eludes You
Are you part of the thirty-two per cent who have trouble sleeping? Poor sleep or lack of sleep may come from staying awake too late or waking up early and being unable to fall back to sleep. You may have experienced either of these situations, and these sleep patterns may indicate insomnia—acute or chronic insomnia.
Too Much Thinking
Insomnia usually occurs due to overwhelming thoughts or, in other words, anxiety. Anxiety can relate to both positive and negative thoughts—excitement or worry at extreme levels. You may be looking forward to an anticipated event or activity, or you may be thinking about a problem you have. Regardless of where your mind is at, if your anxiousness keeps sleepiness away or results in sleep disturbances, you may sleep better using some simple home hacks to improve your sleep hygiene.
Create a Routine
Sleep hygiene refers to the activities you do right before bed that prepare you for slumber. You can improve on this by creating a routine that winds down your mind and your body. Once bedtime comes, you will then be in the optimal state for a good night’s sleep. A sleep routine does this by opening you to your natural circadian rhythm. This rhythm experiences interruption nowadays because of the prevalence of electronic gadgets and computers. Blue light from digital screens causes sleep disruption and possibly anxiety later on. To counter these effects, a sleep routine will be necessary.
Relax for Sleep
As part of your sleep routine, you may use relaxation techniques such as taking a warm bath, writing in a journal, listening to serene music or white noise, and other activities. As long as you relax and slip into sleep, you may do whatever you want. If you still find yourself awake despite being in bed already, you can always do some breathing exercises to ease your mind and clear it of thoughts. Meditation or mindfulness may also be a way to help you relax.
Threats to Mental Health
Your anxiety-induced sleeping problems may sadly take a turn for the worse if your anxiety develops into or is the symptom of psychiatric disorders. Continual sleep deprivation may lead to these health conditions, with generalised anxiety disorder being a common sleep disorder. On the other hand, if you don’t suffer from any of these anxiety disorders, your anxiousness may be the symptom of other health conditions like sleep apnoea, post-traumatic stress disorder, or obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Seek Medical Advice
In light of highly disruptive medical conditions such as GAD or OCD, you should ask for help from sleep specialists or psychiatry experts. They will know how to treat your problem and prescribe the correct measures to help you manage your burden. Health care treatment options include cognitive behavioural therapy, antidepressants, or zolpidem. CBT is considered the most effective treatment for symptoms of anxiety-based disorders out of the three examples. Yet, it will be up to your psychologist or psychiatrist whether you will undergo this treatment option.
How to Tell Anxiety-Induced Insomnias Apart
With this, anxiousness clearly acts as a potent ingredient for insomnia, which may come in acute or chronic insomnia, or as a symptom of an underlying anxiety or other psychological disorder. How to differentiate between the two kinds, however? Short of diagnosing yourself, you may look at the side effects of your problem.
Look at the Time
How long have you had insomnia? The period may tell you whether you have acute or chronic insomnia. Acute insomnia may last only a couple of days or weeks. On the other hand, chronic insomnia may last for months or even years.
Look at Your Life
Is your quality of life affected? How much you have suffered from the effects of insomnia and anxiety can relate to how long you have had the sleep issue. You may quickly recover if you have acute insomnia only. Chronic insomnia may have more lasting effects.
Look at Other Symptoms
What other issues have you experienced? Do you also feel incredibly anxious during the day? Symptoms other than anxiety and insomnia that affect your everyday life, can show you that you may have an underlying problem. Loss of focus and productivity due to sleeplessness is one thing, but it is an entirely different discussion if you also experience negative thoughts, sluggishness, and symptoms of any sleep or anxiety disorder.
Look for Medical Advice
Our team here at Ecosa can only emphasise it so much: seek out sleep medicine experts for proper assessment and diagnosis. Professionals have more knowledge and experience; they stand in a better position to help you than the Internet.
You Can Manage or Get Help
Anxious feelings or thoughts may be expected occasionally, yet too much of them lead to sleep disruption and other problems. With the knowledge you have gained from this article, you may stand a better chance in managing your anxiety, getting professional help if necessary. If you want to get the best mattress for your insomnia, a medium-firm mattress is always your choice. A good, supportive and breathable mattress also helps you get adequate, good-quality and ultra-cool night’s sleep each night.