Insomnia has many causes. One of them is stress and anxiety that leads to churning thoughts when you're trying to sleep. By identifying your stress, scheduling time to attend to your worries, and establishing a healthy bedtime routine, you may be able to avoid racing thoughts and sleep more soundly.
Frequently, people living with stress, anxiety, depression and insomnia will say that racing, intrusive (unwanted) thoughts make it harder for them to get to sleep than any sort of physical discomfort or pain. Insomnia and overthinking often go hand-in-hand.
Excessive thinking at night is one of the most common causes of insomnia. More often than not, it's a sign of stress. Your mind is on high alert, afraid to fall asleep in case you might forget something important. Something you're worried you 'should' be doing.
Turn down your stress levels
Stress is also why you want to sleep but your brain won't stop talking to itself. That's because when the mind is under pressure, it releases a hormone called cortisol, which is also what the body uses to wake you up in the morning.
Sleep anxiety is fear or worry about going to sleep. You may be apprehensive about not falling asleep or not being able to stay asleep. Some people also have a distinct phobia, or fear, about sleep called somniphobia.
Melatonin - a hormone released by the pineal gland - helps you feel sleepy once the lights go down.
Approximately 50% of insomnia cases are related to depression, anxiety or psychological stress. Often the qualities of a person's insomnia and their other symptoms can be helpful in determining the role of mental illness in a person's inability to sleep.
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition in which you experience obsessions or compulsions that are difficult to shake. These obsessions can take the form of racing thoughts, where you can't stop what feels like an avalanche of thoughts on a particular subject.
Overthinking is commonly associated with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), says Duke. GAD is characterized by the tendency to worry excessively about several things. “Someone can develop GAD due to their genes.
Try this: Place a hand on your heart and feel its rhythm. Breathe in deep for 4 seconds, then take a long, slow breath out. Repeat this pattern until you can feel your heartbeat slow down. Your thoughts should soon ease up as well.
Insomnia - being unable to fall asleep and stay asleep. This is the most common sleep disorder.
Mental health conditions, such as depression,4 anxiety,4 or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Traumatic brain injury (TBI) Neurological (brain) disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease. Conditions that cause chronic pain, such as arthritis.
Sleep anxiety is a feeling of fear or stress about falling asleep or staying asleep. Sleep problems and mental health disorders such as anxiety are closely intertwined. One can often make the other worse, so it can feel like a never-ending cycle. But anxiety and sleep problems are both treatable.
Underlying factors may include genetics, stress and certain changes in the way parts of your brain work. In some cases, an underlying condition, such as a sleep disorder or thyroid problem, can cause panic-like signs and symptoms.
Symptoms of Anxiety at Night
headaches. nausea. stomach problems. increased sweating.
Somniphobia is an irrational fear of sleep. People may worry throughout the day about not being able to sleep. This worry can cause difficulties with focus or concentration. Often, somniphobia arises from a fear of having nightmares or experiencing sleep paralysis.
As you approach your bedtime, cortisol production reduces as melatonin production ramps up, helping your body prepare for sleep. Elevated cortisol levels can negatively impact your sleep, most often as a result of stress and electronic devices suppressing your body's melatonin production.
What hormone keeps me awake at night? The main hormones that keep you awake at night at melatonin, cortisol and insulin as mentioned in the previous section.
At a more advanced level, sleep deprivation can over-stimulate parts of the brain and even lead to permanent brain damage, according to a report on sleep deprivation among students published by The Guardian. “This is because of the brain's 'neural plasticity' – which means its ability to adapt to new situations.
For people with sleep deprivation, insomnia, sleep apnea, or other conditions that prevent getting adequate rest, short-term daytime cognitive impairment is common. In addition, multiple studies have linked poor sleep with longer-term cognitive decline, including the development of dementia and Alzheimer's dementia.