Sleep anxiety – One thing Kat does to help me sleep when anxiety hits

As I’m writing this, I realize I just woke up from a restful 6-hour nap in the middle of the day. That, for me, is an all-time record, given that sleep anxiety ruined my nights or the last 20 years or so. This is why I want to tell you what Kat figured out about my inability to sleep and what you can do to minimize the effects of anxiety on your sleeping cycles.

If you are always wondering “How does she sleep so peacefully all the time???”, we got you covered!

Quiet nights are an absolute nightmare with sleep anxiety

While I kept tossing and turning, Kat took to the internet to find ways to cope with anxiety and eventually manage to sleep more than two hours each night, which was obviously taking a toll on my health and overall wellbeing.

She suggested I try meditation, affirmations, a warm cup of milk before going to bed, none of these size one fits all recommendations worked. So instead of relying on the experience of others, one blissful evening, Kat came up with a genius idea:

Are you tired?

Yes? OK.

Do you want to sleep?

Yes? OK.

Then sleep.

Exhausted and visibly irritated Kat

But it’s not that easy, right? Wrong! It is easy, once you figure out your own approach to alleviating sleep anxiety.

Nocturnal anxiety needs a personalized approach

Just like any other anxiety episode, nocturnal tossing and turning comes down to one thing and one thing only.

If you are not putting your mind at ease, it won’t turn off, so you can’t rest.

The only trick that helped me sleep with anxiety – explained step by step

This is the part where I explain in detail what you too can do in order to sleep no matter how bad your anxiety is. Of course, it took me years of practice in order to get to where I am right now, but it doesn’t have to be the same for you. All you have to do is trust a complete stranger on the internet and do what Kat told me to do.

Find something comfortable to wear

It can be your favourite hoodie, silk pyjamas, whatever works for you.

My favourite thing is wearing a hoodie and tightening the hood around my head until I look like a well tucked in potato ready to be baked, with just my nose popping out, so I can breathe easily.

I just doze off instantly, because it shields off any unwanted noise or light.

Talk to your mind as if you were talking to a worried friend

What is it that you think you have to worry about? Is it work related anxiety, is it that you can’t remember if you closed the door when you came back from work? Did you forget to close the window?

Sleep anxiety fades if you figure out what the intruding thoughts are about

If it’s something you can fix quickly so that you can put your mind at ease, do it. If not, then you have to talk yourself through it and remind yourself that you can deal with this at a later time. You don’t actually have to talk out loud, but feel free to do it if the internal dialogue isn’t powerful enough to quiet your anxious mind.

Establish an “appointment” for yesterday’s mistakes

If it’s something about yesterday, last week, last year or any other random fun fact from the past that haunts you still, just write it on a piece of paper or record it on your phone so that you can review it later.

Schedule a ritual for tomorrow morning

If it’s something about tomorrow, just accept that you can’t do anything about it right now and promise your anxious mind that tomorrow morning, while sipping your coffee, you will think about all of that and find the right solution for what is troubling you.

The key here is to keep your promise and process these things at a later time, when you feel rested and ready to deal with them.

Otherwise, they will come back again when you least expect them to.

Find the right position without getting annoyed

Even if it means turning right and left and moving your hands and feet over and over until you hit that right sport, take your time to make yourself feel comfortable without angrily judging yourself for not being able to sleep. Just like any other thing in your life, it is a process, and it needs time and adjusting in order to work for you.

Remember, there is no one size fits all solution, because your mind is unique and needs to be treated accordingly. Be patient, as if you were tending to a newborn that doesn’t know its way around this complicated world we live in.

Let your body move freely, relax your muscles and just go with it. If that means sleeping on your back with arms and legs up in the air, then so be it!

Bonus: If your mind can’t just turn off, then give it something pleasant to play with

Just overwrite the worrying thoughts with pictures of cats, mountains, your morning cup of tea or coffee, the soothing sound of rain or the smell of your grandma’s cinnamon apple pie. Anything that brings you joy is allowed to join what Kat refers to as the “Sleep tight movie”. I do this all the time and end up falling asleep and not knowing exactly when it happened. Don’t know where to start? You can get some inspiration in my previous post, “Kat meets anxiety”. It’s a light, relaxing read, with some cute pictures that might help you get started.

This anxiety trick helps you sleep if you are willing to take control

Even if you don’t fall asleep right away, at least you can rest while thinking about the good things in life for a change. And there are plenty. You just have to make room for them, as your mind is so used to focusing on the bad stuff. And that’s okay, too. This is how you are used to acting in order to feel prepared all the time. It gives you a sense of control. Just remember that the first thing you need to get in touch with in order for it to work is your own mind.

Learn to work with it and guide it towards where you want to go. Input the coordinates for the realm of pleasant dreams and enjoy the ride! I’ll just leave this here in case you need a soundtrack to soothe your anxiety while tucked in bed, ready for a visit to sleepy town: