Anxiety against insomnia

Anxiety is when a person feels tense and anxious. Sometimes it is quite normal to experience these feelings. But if it happens too often, it may indicate an anxiety disorder that can cause severe attacks that increase heart rate, which raises blood pressure, which causes excessive sweating or dizziness. Anxiety can also affect sleep quality.

Anxiety is the body's natural response to stress or certain life circumstances, which can disappear on its own. Instead, anxiety disorder is a deeper psychological condition that is accompanied by persistent symptoms and requires a professional approach to treatment.

For example, there is a generalized anxiety disorder in which a person constantly experiences severe anxiety, even for no particular reason. This condition significantly affects the quality of life, interfering with the ability to focus on work, school, or personal relationships.

Insomnia is the occurrence of problems with falling asleep or maintaining a subsequent sleep. If this happens to a person about three times a week for more than three months, this condition is called chronic insomnia. In the future, it can increase the likelihood of other health conditions, including anxiety disorders.

How anxiety and insomnia are related

Anxiety during the day often affects the quality of your night. Severe mental overexcitement can lead to poor sleep. Sleep disorders such as insomnia may indicate an anxiety disorder.

Once a person falls asleep, an anxiety disorder can cause them to sleep too little to be fully rested and energized. Anxiety is a kind of body alarm system that helps you stay safe by protecting you from potential danger. But if such an alarm is triggered for no apparent reason, as in an anxiety disorder, a person cannot fall into a deep sleep.

All of this can cause stress because a person cannot fall asleep or get a good night's sleep. And this causes even more anxiety.

Experts have also found that chronic sleep deprivation significantly affects a person's emotional health. Studies show that people with obstructive sleep apnea have episodic episodes of sleep apnea, wake up regularly during the night, and are more prone to mental disorders such as anxiety, panic attacks, and depression.

Could I have insomnia or an anxiety disorder?

Chronic insomnia is a problem with falling asleep or maintaining quality sleep over a specific period of time that is not associated with other health problems. Anxiety disorders are more difficult to diagnose.

In addition to experiencing constant tension, anxiety, and sleep problems, there are other signs of an anxiety disorder

• avoidance of situations that cause feelings of fear;
  
• nervousness and anxiety;
  
• a sense of impending danger
  
• heart palpitations;
  
• problems with breathing;
  
• excessive sweating or chills;
  
• loss of concentration;
  
• problems with digestion;
  
• problems with controlling anxiety.
  

If you experience the above symptoms or if the degree of your anxiety has a significant impact on your quality of life and work, you should seek professional help.

Sleep anxiety versus somnophobia

Sleep anxiety can lead to somnophobia. Somnophobia is a fear of sleep, which can be caused by various factors, including past trauma or fear of sleepwalking. If a person has a disturbing dream , he or she naturally cannot get a good night's sleep. But if they suffer from somniphobia, the fear becomes stronger. The fear of the night arises because the person starts thinking about what might happen when they fall asleep.

Symptoms of somnophobia

With somniphobia, a person may be stressed when they start thinking about their upcoming sleep or trying to fall asleep. There may also be a feeling of irritability, loss of concentration due to thoughts about the upcoming dream. A person may delay going to bed for a long time, lie with the lights or TV on for a long time. There are other symptoms of somniphobia, such as panic attacks, chest pain, hyperventilation, and heart palpitations.

Causes of somnophobia

Experts doubt what causes somnophobia, but believe that it can be caused by several factors:

Tossing andturning (insomnia anxiety). Most often, fear of sleep is the result of a sleep disorder. Every third person in the world has symptoms of insomnia, which is a common cause of this fear. If a person doesn't get the necessary amount of quality sleep, they start to worry. In insomnia, worrying about sleep only aggravates the condition. A person worries about sleep, so they can't fall asleep.

Chronic nightmares. They are another sleep disorder that causes fear. Children are especially vulnerable in this matter. But adults can also have nightmares, especially those with PTSD.

Fear of dying in a dream. A person may worry about sleeping because of health problems. If they have obstructive sleep apnea, this can cause a fear that they will stop breathing in their sleep. This type of fear is quite rare, but it can occur when someone learns about their sleep apnea and waits for it to get better with a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine. When sleep apnea is under full control, a person's sense of alertness increases and daytime sleepiness decreases.

Fear of dying in a dream can occur if a person has heart problems (sudden cardiac arrest, stroke, seizures, or an overdose of sedatives). If a person has any heart disease, sleep apnea, or lung disease, the risk of sleep apnea increases.

Recurrent sleep paralysis. This condition occurs when a person is unable to move his or her limbs while falling asleep or waking up. Recurrent paralysis in some cases is accompanied by hallucinations and can be hereditary. It can cause a feeling of nervousness while falling asleep.

What can be done?

Conditions such as sleep disorders and anxiety disorders can be treated. There are a number of methods that can help overcome the fear of sleep:

Observance of sleep hygiene rules.

1. You should go to bed at a certain time and wake up by alarm at the same time.
   
2. Create a kind of bedtime ritual, consisting of relaxing evening activities with quiet, calm music.
   
3. Do not eat or drink drinks containing caffeine and alcohol.
   
4. Stay awake during the day.
   
5. Go to bed only if you feel very sleepy.
   
6. Exercise regularly.
   
7. Refrain from long-term use of sleeping pills.
   
8. Create a cool and dark atmosphere in the bedroom.
   
9. Only sleep and have sex in the bedroom.
   
10. Balance your diet and maintain a normal weight.
    

Medical care from a specialist.

If you suffer from a sleep disorder that is accompanied by insomnia, chronic nightmares, or other problems, you should consult a specialist.

Cognitive behavioral therapy or special sleeping pills are used to treat insomnia. To eliminate chronic nightmares, rehearsal therapy with the creation of images or treatments such as exposure, relaxation, and rescripting therapy, which consists of rewriting and rehearsing a new version of the nightmare throughout the day. Your doctor may also prescribe various prescription medications.

You should also consult a specialist if you suspect sleep apnea or other sleep disorders.

In case of anxiety disorder, your doctor may recommend an option that is used in the treatment of sleep problems, such as

1. Psychotherapy. A psychotherapist can recommend different ways of relaxation. The most effective method of psychotherapy in the treatment of anxiety disorders is cognitive behavioral therapy. It is also used to positively treat anxiety by helping a person better understand and control their emotions and behavior.
   
2. Medications. A specialist may prescribe medications that include antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications. It is also possible to take short-term sedatives or beta blockers.
   

In addition, you can try several other options for dealing with sleep anxiety and insomnia:

1. Meditation.
   
2. Prioritizing your life and delegating your main task list for the day.
   

If you want to learn more about anxiety, personality disorders, modern approaches to their treatment, and other useful mental health tips, visit our website present-perfect.com. Here you will find detailed articles, expert recommendations, and many interesting things about modern methods of maintaining emotional and physical well-being.

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