I Can't Sleep: How To Fall Asleep With Anxiety

If having anxiety was bad enough the lack of sleep you are getting as a result of your anxiety just makes matters worse. While there are many medications on the market that may be working for you there are some relaxation techniques that are effective for falling asleep and pushing aside that anxiety. I suffer from anxiety especially at night. The days problems seem to flow directly to my brain at night to form a slide show of my problems. Common issues that come to the forefront are problems with relationships, projects or work due, stress from financial problems, and maybe even health problems that we have neglected to take care of or address.

Medications on the market today are numerous but not without their side affects. If I take something (medication ie Ambien) to fall asleep at night I usually awake in a fog, and for the rest of the day I am in recovery mode. Many people drink themselves to sleep or perhaps use other drugs not intended as a sleep aid. While some may believe that these unorthodox medications work, they can sometimes be dangerous or just compound the issue of anxiety.

If you are having trouble falling asleep due to anxiety, here are a few non-medication techniques to fall asleep faster.

1. Exercise.  You should not exercise right before you go to bed, but if you do it in the early evening it may help you feel more relaxed before you go to sleep.
2. Take a hot shower.  By showering at night you can save precious time in the morning and you will likely feel more relaxed before you go to bed.
3. Reading.  Reading in bed before you go to sleep will not only make you think about something other than your problems but will likely get you to the "falling asleep" stage faster.
4. Music.  Try ambient or atmospheric music played softly while you sleep.  The soothing sounds may trigger your brain to dream and hopefully let your problems fall away from you temporarily.
5. Stretching.  Try some yoga or other stretching before you go to sleep.  While anxiety may reside in your brain, getting your body in a relaxed state is half the battle.
6. Think positively before sleeping.  You know, we all have problems, some more than others, but we all have things we can be thankful for.  If you have any illusions that you are the worst off human on the planet think again.  While you may be unlucky in relationships or with money there are others who live in extreme poverty, locked up in prison for the rest of their lives, or have extreme limitations due to disease or health problems.  How bad is your life and problems really.
7. Talk to someone.  If you have a friend who is a good listener maybe you can talk to them.  Half the problem with anxiety and depression is that we tend to lock our problems and concerns inside where no one else can help, we then make these problems bigger than they should be because we do not allow others to evaluate them or add and important element of perspective.

Once you are in bed in a comfortable position you will want to quell the anxiety and problems swirling around in your head.  To do this you will want to have your eyes closed and in your mind see only white.  Call it a blank slate or a white piece of paper.  Once we see the white we want to work down from our head (which is in the white state) and focus on our next body part which is the neck.  We want to relax our muscles and tension in our neck.  Once you feel the head and neck are relaxed we move down our limbs and torso until we have relaxed our entire body ending with our toes. 

While it takes some concentration to employ this technique, you may find that it works for you.  What we are trying to achieve here is full mind and body relaxation.  Many of us are going top speed all day at work and at home and having an increasing amount of pressure and responsibility placed upon us.  Getting a good nights sleep and taking care of ourselves with a healthy diet combined with exercise is really paramount in surviving in today's fast paced world.  If you have any tips for combating anxiety and sleep problems please leave your tip or advice in the comments section below, as I am sure that other readers would benefit from it.  Thank you.