The Link Between Anxiety and Insomnia

Stress and anxiety aren’t exactly in short supply these days — nearly one in five adults in the United States has an anxiety disorder. And this already large number doesn’t include the millions more Americans who are overstressed and on the brink of a full-blown anxiety and/or sleep disorder.

As you might imagine, the link between anxiety and a sleep disorder like insomnia is an incredibly strong one. After all, it’s hard to sleep when you’re worrying and your mind is racing. But there’s much more to this connection than a simple leap of logic.

As experts in both anxiety and insomnia, our team at Point of View Mental Health in Scottsdale, Arizona, under the experienced guidance of Thomas Pearson, PA-C, is very familiar with the vicious cycle these two disorders can create, and we’re here to help on both fronts.

When anxiety leads to insomnia

We already learned that about 20% of the adult population in our country has an anxiety disorder. When it comes to insomnia, the numbers are similar — 15-35% of adults have experienced shorter bouts of the sleep disorder while 10% of adults struggle with ongoing and unrelenting insomnia. 

While there are many roads to insomnia, anxiety is certainly one that’s well traveled. When you’re dealing with an anxiety disorder, your body is stuck in a stress response, flooding your system with stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. These hormones are designed to make it easier for you to fight or flee — two actions that are far from resting and sleeping.

For people with anxiety, the challenge is a tough one. Sleep is often the only break from a racing mind and pounding heart, but these same two symptoms keep you from getting to sleep. In fact, anxiety symptoms can worsen at night when there’s nothing to distract you from your excessive worry.

When insomnia leads to anxiety

Now let’s go in the opposite direction and discuss how issues with insomnia can lead to anxiety. There’s even a name for this — sleep anxiety.

With sleep anxiety, you start your day exhausted thanks to a lack of sleep and, as you get through your day and approach bedtime, you start to worry about whether you’re going to be able to sleep. Then you worry about what happens the next day if you don’t. And on it goes until you’re fully anxious by the time you go to bed when, you guessed it, sleep doesn’t come.

Getting help for your insomnia and anxiety

As you can see, insomnia and anxiety aren’t only linked, they’re entwined, which is why we prefer to address both for the best results. 

Depending on your goals and situation, we will likely try a combination of approaches that may include one or more of the following:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy
• Light therapy to realign your circadian rhythm
• Sleep hygiene — creating a solid and consistent sleep routine
• Prescription medications for both insomnia and anxiety
• Relaxation techniques, such as meditation and body scanning
• Stress management

We also come up with a good lifestyle plan that will ease your anxiety and encourage better sleep, such as getting exercise, spending time with friends and family, and finding good support systems. We work tirelessly until we find a solution that will break your insomnia and anxiety circle.

If peace of mind and better sleep are your goals, please call our office at 520-999-9114 or connect with us online today. We also offer telemedicine services throughout the state of Arizona.