Thursday, December 17, 2009

Anxiety and Sleeplessness

By Gordon Dalwood

Are you desperate to get a good night's sleep but finding it impossible? Do you find yourself tossing and turning all night and when you do drift off, you wake up soon afterwards again? Is this something you've been experience for a few months, or do you experience these bouts every once in a while? Perhaps you've been having these bouts for year already but because they tend to come and go, you've always just battle your way through them. Well, if any of this sounds familiar, then I'm afraid that anxiety may very well be the cause of the insomnia.

Is this possible? Yes, it is indeed. In fact, if you're concerned about your finances, your job, or even some other personal matter to the point where you can no longer enjoy a good night's rest, then there's a strong possibility that you're suffering from anxiety induced insomnia. And, before you try to brush this off as being nothing more that unpleasant, you need to know that if you continue to go without enough sleep, there can be serious consequences.

If you are not getting a good night's sleep for a couple of weeks, what do you think the effect of this would be on your job? This would definitely take it's toll on your work status. Irritability due to the lack of sleep can affect home life and cause problems with your friends and family. That is why it is imperative to take control of the situation and turn it around.

While we know that anxiety can lead to sleep disturbances, some may wonder why it occurs. The reasons that the two occur hand in hand is largely the result of restlessness and hyperactivity. When you are suffering from anxiety related racing thought and mental noise, the ability to calm down becomes elusive. This is what leads to the sleeplessness so many anxiety sufferers must deal with.

There are numerous ways to reduce anxiety in order to eliminate insomnia. In particular, one of the most beneficial things to do is to avoid consuming any substance that will contribute to your anxiety. For example, you should avoid caffeine and other stimulants if you are having trouble sleeping. Bear in mind, it's been proven time and time again that these substances are known to increase and contribute to anxiety.

Physical exercise should be on a regular basis as anxiety is known to be connected with pent up tension. When exercising you can alleviate this tension and rid the body of it by using it as energy. Much the same as you burn calories you can burn tension.

Engaging in deep breathing exercises is also helpful. Gaining control of your breathing will contribute greatly to reducing anxiety. This is because deep breathing will slow your respiration and your heart rate. This, in turn, will have a calming effect. That will eventually help restore your normal sleeping patterns.

A very serious problem, anxiety is bad enough by itself. But when you add sleeplessness the problems are even more serious. But there are ways, thank goodness, that you can lessen these symptoms. This allows hope that you will once again take control of your life. - 14130

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