Anxiety and Sleep: Breaking the Cycle of Worry and Bad Nights

Anxiety and sleep feed into each other. Worry makes it harder to fall and stay asleep, and a run of bad nights makes anxiety harder to manage the next day. Anxiety disorders affect 1 in 4 Australians at some stage in their life, and problems sleeping are one of the common symptoms (source). This guide covers how the cycle works, what helps at night, what treatments work, and when to get support.

The short answer: anxiety and poor sleep form a two-way cycle, and worry about sleep itself can keep it going long after the original stress has passed. The best-supported treatment for ongoing insomnia is cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), along with treatment for the anxiety itself. At night, get up if you've been awake for about 20 minutes, skip alcohol as a sedative, and stop watching the clock. If anxiety or poor sleep is affecting your daily life, see your GP.

How anxiety and sleep feed each other

The Sleep Health Foundation puts it simply: if you're a worrier, you're at greater risk of insomnia (source). The cycle usually looks like this:

1. Stress or worry keeps your mind busy at bedtime.
2. You sleep badly and feel tired and on edge the next day.
3. You start worrying about sleep itself, and bed begins to feel like a place of struggle.
4. That sleep worry keeps you awake, even once the original stress has gone.

The foundation notes this last step is the trap: worrying about sleep can keep insomnia going after the trigger has resolved. You don't need an anxiety disorder for this to happen. Some people with low-stress lives get caught simply by fixating on sleep.

What anxious sleep can look like

Pattern	What it might feel like
Trouble falling asleep	Replaying the day, planning tomorrow, mind won't switch off
Waking in the night	Waking and immediately starting to worry. See why do I wake up at 3am
Waking too early	Alert well before your alarm with a sense of dread
Anxious mornings	Racing heart or worry as soon as you wake. See morning anxiety
Clock-watching	Calculating how much sleep you'll get if you fall asleep now

Waking during the night is normal. Everyone does it to some degree. The difference is whether you remember it and start worrying about it (source).

What helps at night

These are practical steps from Australian health sources. None of them replace treatment, but they can take the edge off.

• Get up if you can't sleep. If you're still awake after about 20 minutes, go to a quiet space and do something calm until you feel drowsy, then go back to bed.
• Stop checking the time. Clock-watching feeds the worry. Turn the clock away or move it (source).
• Skip alcohol as a wind-down. Using alcohol to relax before bed won't help your sleep. See does alcohol help you sleep.
• Cut caffeine earlier. Avoid tea, coffee and caffeinated soft drinks for 3 to 7 hours before bed.
• Park your worries before bed. Writing a short list earlier in the evening can help. See to-do list before bed.
• Try a relaxation technique. Slow breathing such as 4-7-8 breathing or a body scan can give your mind somewhere else to go.

For more on a busy mind at bedtime, see racing thoughts at night.

Treatments that work

The Sleep Health Foundation recommends these over sleeping tablets for anxiety-related sleep problems:

• Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). A structured program that changes the habits and thoughts that keep insomnia going. See CBT for insomnia.
• Mindfulness. Learning to notice thoughts without getting caught up in them.
• Relaxation techniques. Practised regularly, not only when you're already wound up.

The foundation notes sleeping tablets tend to lose their effect over time and can become habit-forming. For anxiety itself, treatment options include lifestyle changes, psychological therapy and medicines, and your GP can help you work out what fits (source).

When to see your GP

See your GP if:

• Anxiety is affecting your everyday life, at work, at home or with friends.
• Poor sleep has gone on for weeks and isn't improving with good habits.
• You're relying on alcohol or medication to get to sleep.
• You feel low, hopeless or unable to cope.

Your GP can refer you to a psychologist or sleep specialist. You can also call Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636. If you're in crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 any time, or 000 in an emergency. This guide is general information, not medical advice.

Where the Sovune Nudge fits

We make the Sovune Nudge, a silent vibrating wristband alarm, so we're not neutral. It doesn't treat anxiety or insomnia. Some people with anxious sleep prefer a calmer start than a loud alarm, and the Nudge is designed for a quieter wake-up. See alarm anxiety for more on that.

• Silent. No speaker and no sound, so no sudden blast to wake to.
• Starts as a gentle tap on your wrist and builds through three intensity levels.
• No light in the room except a small display when you press the button, so there's no glowing clock to watch overnight.
• Set on the band itself. No app or phone, so you don't need your phone beside the bed.

It comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Quick answers

Can anxiety cause insomnia? Yes. Worriers are at greater risk of insomnia, and worry about sleep itself can keep insomnia going.

What should I do when anxiety wakes me at night? If you can't get back to sleep after about 20 minutes, get up, do something calm in dim light, and return when sleepy.

Do sleeping tablets help anxiety-related insomnia? They may help short term, but they tend to lose effect and can be habit-forming. CBT-I is the recommended first option.

Does poor sleep make anxiety worse? Often, yes. Tiredness makes it harder to manage worry, which is why treating sleep can help with both.

For every type of silent alarm compared, see our complete guide to vibrating alarms in Australia.

See the Sovune Nudge →