We lie in bed after a tiring day at work. It’s the moment we’ve been looking forward to all day, and our eyelids ask us to close them: it’s time to sleep.
We enter our wonderful room, put on our pajamas, unmake the bed and get inside. We turn off the light and… we can’t sleep.
What’s happening? Aren’t we tired enough? We are tired and want to sleep, but surprise! All the worries of the day, all the tension of being awake come to us when the power goes out. How to control anxiety before sleeping? We will try to resolve this issue below.
Anxiety is, unfortunately, part of the lives of many of us. One of the ways in which it can manifest itself, perhaps one of the worst, is when it occurs to us just before going to sleep.
While lying down, we notice how our heart, for no apparent reason, speeds up and no matter how much we try to lower our heart rate, it seems to be increasing. In addition, focusing on the rhythm of our heart makes us even more aware that the turbo has been activated. This doesn’t seem to help, since, although tired, we are waking up, even though we want to sleep.
But it is not that it is only the heart that does not let us sleep. While lying down and trying to sleep, all the worries of the day come to mind: how will my family be? I am going to be fired? Should I go to the doctor? Why am I not able to do things when I have to? and many more questions that, terribly inopportunely, come at a time when we should leave our minds blank.
The more questions we ask, the more we think about everything and, of course, the more nervous it generates, worsening the quality of subsequent sleep It is these concerns, along with physiological symptoms such as increased heart rate, one of the main causes of sleep problems. Furthermore, if at night we are too cognitively active, the next day we are sleepy, unfocused, and we do not perform well. We cannot work well, nor are we active when we should be.
Anxiety is closely related to what we do and what we think and feel. Whoever manages to control these three aspects acquires the key to taking their anxiety by the horns and putting it in its place: away from us.
Change the way you do
The first thing to keep in mind is that a change in habits is necessary. There is no point in doing exactly the same thing that we do every day, or rather, every night just before going to sleep. If that way of living hasn’t worked for us, what is going to make it work now? It is necessary to change our lifestyle, we have to change what we do
Eating too heavy a meal just before going to sleep is fatal for the quality of our sleep. Foods rich in salt and sugar make digestion an odyssey and keep us awake longer.
While lying down, and with pain in our stomach, we begin to regret having had that succulent kebab or pizza that we wanted so much before but that now prevents us from sleeping and, on top of that, we are trying to force sleep.
Be careful what you eat. A light dinner, such as a salad and yogurt, and no later than two hours before going to sleep is the best dietary advice to avoid having nighttime anxiety.
2. Neither alcohol nor coffee
Coffee and tea are stimulating drinks, as everyone knows. Stimulating is synonymous with activating and, therefore, accelerates the heart and thoughts and can also cause anxiety if taken too much. These are drinks to avoid after six.
As for alcohol, the ideal is simply not to drink it If it is taken, at least it should not be too late, since it affects sleep.
A good drink to help you sleep and also helps you relax is milk. If we are not lactose intolerant or vegan, cow’s milk is a very good option, as well as easy to obtain, to have sweet dreams.
4. More exercise
Exercise is a classic way to treat anxiety, not only because it makes us physically tired, which is great for getting to sleep sooner, but it also induces a state of natural chemical happiness thanks to the release of endorphins, and reduces cortisol. .
But you must be careful. It is not advisable to exercise too much before going to sleep The ideal is to do it, at the latest, at nine at night. This is because the heart is activated, especially in aerobic activities such as elliptical, cycling or running.
If after exercising we notice that the heart is still racing, the best thing to do is take note of the following recommendation.
5. Take a shower
Taking a hot shower shortly before going to sleep is fantastic to help you fall asleep, since it can be a very relaxing experience.
The idea is that the water is warm and, if available, use an exfoliant all over the body Many scrubs are made from salts with effects similar to bath salts, known to be very relaxing.
6. Establish consistent schedules
Anxiety is usually accompanied by a disorganized lifestyle, and the clearest example of this is in people who go to sleep at a different time every day.
The body needs to establish constant schedules , since if not, you can’t get used to practically anything. We should try to go to sleep at the same time every day, with a half-hour margin at most.
Sleeping at the same time every day regulates circadian rhythms, allowing for natural, quality sleep. Thus, we acquire the habit of falling asleep, almost automatically, at the appropriate time, leaving little time to worry once we are lying down.
7. The bed is for sleeping, and nothing else
Many people use their bed to work on their laptop, play sports, play video games, watch TV… All of them bad options.
The room, to the extent possible, and especially the bed, should be used only for sleeping Thus the body becomes accustomed to associating, at least what amounts to the bed, with the act of sleeping.
8. Create a pleasant environment before sleeping
If it is not possible to make the bedroom the place where we only sleep, either because it is too intimate a place for us or it is where we work, what we can do is, before going to sleep, make it have a more pleasant environment
To the extent possible, we can change the color of the lights, the temperature, light a scented candle, play relaxing music…
With all these options, and the many more that may come to us, we can make our room a place where anxiety is not welcome nor does it want to come.
9. No screens
I know it’s difficult not to look at your phone or leave your computer off for several hours before going to bed, but it’s the best.
Using electronic devices, especially screens with blue lights, delays the time we go to sleep Let’s try to avoid having them on during the two hours before our bedtime.
Change the way you think
Being worried because we can’t sleep, we give even more thought to that same idea: why don’t I fall asleep? I need to sleep, I want to sleep! And that doesn’t help, because it increases anxiety even more.
But what if we change the way we look at it? And if instead of forcing ourselves to sleep, we try to flow towards rest. Forcing things is not good, because it generates tension, one of the (almost) synonymous words for anxiety and stress. How are we going to relax by forcing rest?
Let’s calm down. It sounds easier said than done, but it’s all a matter of knowing the strategy There are countless techniques, cheap, comfortable and easy to use, to induce the body into a state of relaxation.
1. Body scan
Body scanning is one of the most useful relaxation techniques while in bed. It is a Mindfulness technique and although its main objective is not, in reality, to relax, relaxation is a positive side effect of the process.
While lying down, we concentrate on the sensations of different parts of the body. We try to acquire full attention of each of the extremities, the buttocks, the abdomen, the head, the heart…
During the process, if done with full attention and care, the mind, by focusing on parts of the body, takes center stage from the many worries that may occur to us while we are trying to sleep.
2. Accept that, at night, problems will not be solved
A key factor in anxiety before sleeping is worries, which can be of any type. The problem is that, no matter how many thoughts we give them and no matter how many “solutions” we try to look for, things, at night, are not solved. The word “pre-worry” already says it, taking care of it before even being able to do it.
Thinking over and over again is of no use if we are not going to get going and apply it For example, if we are worried about our health, and we want to go to the doctor, it is best to go to the doctor when we can, that is, during the day. We’re not going to think about it at night when we can’t make an appointment.
The night is the time to sleep. It may seem very simple to give the advice that we should stop thinking about things that can only be solved during the day, but the truth is that, since we are not going to be able to do much lying down, why think about it anymore?
3. Medication and psychotherapy
However, in cases where it is necessary and in which the advice described above has not proven effective, it is best to go to a professional who can study the particular case and opt for the necessary therapeutic route.
There are over-the-counter drugs that help you fall asleep, but their side effects, such as drowsiness, do not make them at all recommended for work life If they are needed, they should be taken, of course, but it is best to opt for psychotherapy or, if drugs are needed, consult with a doctor or psychiatrist.
But the truth is that in most cases, the appearance of anxiety before sleeping is due to problems in the person’s social sphere, not to physiological causes. For this reason, the first therapeutic search option is to go to a clinical psychologist, who will diagnose the possible anxiety and associated sleep disorder, opting for a whole behavioral change strategy to ensure that the person stops suffering from nocturnal rumination and gains better quality. of the dream.
