Can Worrying Affect Your Sleep?

Stress and Worry

Life today is stressful. Modern technology means that we pack more and more into our lives, going to and fro and barely stopping to rest and reflect. Pressures of work and the burden of responsibility often lead to a lack of civility in society and pressures bubble just below the surface. With so much going on in our lives it’s little wonder that many of us have trouble switching off and getting a good night’s rest at the end of the day.

Worry can keep you awake at night

Worry is a thief and steals you of your joy. Basically, all of our worries come down to two things: that we won’t get what we need, or that we’ll lose what we’ve got, and this keeps us awake at night. Some of the major problems that we may face in life can cause us emotional or mental tension that can lead to insomnia. Here we will outline some basic practical solutions for dealing with stress and worry, depression and financial uncertainty.

Scientists have found a direct link between anxiety and rhythm of sleep. When a person has anxious thoughts, their heart rate goes up and in turn the mind starts to ‘race’. This causes the brain to become alert and stimulated and start producing beta waves. This happens to someone who worries about something when they’re trying to get to sleep – instead of being calm and subdued; their brains are too aroused to sleep. And to make matters worse, once their brain is stimulated in this way, other worries are activated, making sleep even harder to achieve. As a pattern sets in, sleep becomes a thing of anxiety.

Sleep techniques

To overcome this various techniques can be used to stop these thoughts and calm the heart rate, cognitive behavioural therapy being one of them. This is a psychological treatment that helps people ‘unlearn’ the thought processes that block a good night’s sleep.

One way to manage and slow your heart rate is to place your hand on your heart and quiet yourself so that you can hear it beating. Then breathe in deeply and slowly for three or four –seconds, and then breathe out for three or four seconds. Repeat this until you feel your heart rate slowing down. This will then slow the busy brain activity.

Financial worries

Financial worries have become a real and significant problem for many individuals, especially since the global economic crisis of 2008 and all its repercussions since then.

Consumerism is at an all-time high and a tolerance of high levels of debt has replaced the tendency, or ability to save money. For some of us the monthly pile of bills and expenses exceeds the amount of income, leading to mounting debts and a threat to our homes and security. This can cause sleepless nights.

The way that we handle these financial challenges can determine not only whether we can sleep through the night, but also how we can get through the difficulties we’re experiencing. In a 2011 survey of 2000 adults who had sleeping difficulties, the top reason cited was money worries at 37%, and second on the list was work issues at 30%.

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