Night time anxiety

[Banned]

I've noticed a huge spike in my anxiety at night before bed. It can get really, really bad. Even right now I'm not off work for another almost four hours but it's bad.

Does anyone else seem to have a major spike in their anxiety at night near bedtime? I don't know why...but I almost dread bedtime because of the anxiety which just feeds more anxiety. I have Clonazepam but I don't want to rely on it if I don't have to.

 

[heatherly]

Turtle, If things are bothering me, during the day I can keep my mind off them but at bedtime, I don't have anything to keep me from thinking. If I had a TV in the room I could fall to sleep easily. Sometimes if I read a book in bed and that helps a little, but I end up taking a sleeping pill. What could help you is a warm cup of chamomile tea. I don't drink it at night because I would end up in the bathroom, but if you can drink water at night, it may help. They also have them in tablets called "Calm," I think.

 

[GDPR]

I get anxiety at night,often.I have been listening to soothing music while in bed,and that seems to help a lot.When the anxiety is really bad I sleep with headphones on(I tried ear buds,but they hurt my ears and fall out). If I can focus on what I am listening to and not think about anything,it makes a huge difference.

The Marconi Union,'Weightless' tune,the one that's supposed to be the most relaxing tune ever(posted here at Psychlinks) really is relaxing,and I usually listen to that every night.

 

[Cat Dancer]

I struggle with this too. I sometimes fall asleep listening to music or with the tv on. I also don't like using the medication too much.

 

[Retired]

LIT's suggestion is what I was thinking of posting as well.

Added to the music I would suggest diaphragmatic breathing, mentioned further in the thread referred to by LIT. Deep breathing exercises are an effective way to defeat our body's defense mechanisms that become unintentionally engaged when we experience anxiety attacks.

When anxious we tend to breath rapidly and in a shallow manner....deep breathing or so called diaphragmatic breathing tends to reverse that process, thereby lessening the effects of the anxiety attack.

 

[Banned]

I am not a good night time sleeper. I can sleep at the drop of a hat during the day. Night time was a really traumatic time for me when I was a child and I would cry myself into exhaustion trying to avoid falling asleep. Apparently it hasn't gotten much better as I've gotten older as I still cry a lot at night and usually end up just drugging myself to avoid the anxiety and fear that accompanies night time sleep. I'm not entirely sure where this comes from.

I work til 1am in the morning so,I can't start doing anything sedating until about 12:30. Some days I don't need anything to sleep but then I wake up with crushing stomach and / or chest pains from anxiety in my sleep. It's horrible.

I do drink usually a couple of litres of water during work at night and try not to caffeinate, and every now and then I'm able to wean off my sleeping pills for a couple weeks but it never lasts. Night time is just not my friend. I just stopped having horrible, vivid nightmares all night every night a few years ago.

 

[Retired]

I just stopped having horrible, vivid nightmares all night every night a few years ago

Have you discussed this with your doctor to determine if these vivid dreams might have been caused by one of your prescription medications..this is not an uncommon side effect with some SSRI/SSNI and also so anti hypertensives as far as I know, and there may be other classes of medications with adrenergic activity resulting in bizarre vivid dreams that have nothing to do with your state of mind nor your emotional state.

Some resources:

National Sleep Foundation - Sleep Research & Education

The Importance of Your Sleeping Environment - Better Sleep Tips

12 ways to make your bedroom more sleep-friendly | Sleep | Embrace Life | Best Health

How to Sleep Better: Tips for Getting a Good Night?s Sleep

Insomnia: Improving Your Sleep

 

[MHealthJo]

Night time anxiety is really hard. I empathise with anyone who goes through any degree of that.

In addition to the suggestions mentioned, a favourite go-to when I have times of various levels of night anxiety is an audio of Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now. The sound is relaxing and the message is very good for those times.

(I'll also say, the best type of earphone is the very small flexy jelly type ones that go fully inside the earhole - different to a bud I think? And you can get your individual size jelly part.)

Other than that audio, any audiobook that makes me concentrate and think is good. Sometimes though, the breathing exercises as well as something like yoga with muscle-tensing and breath-holding and mindfulness is absolutely necessary. But at the end of the day, I'm still a pretty terrible night sleeper and know I always will be, basically. It does suck. :/

 

[Banned]

Steve,

the nightmares started when I was a young child, long before I started on any medication.

 

[Retired]

the nightmares started when I was a young child

Have you ever been evaluated for sleep disorders by a sleep specialist??

 

[Banned]

No. I looked into it and they wanted $2,000. A bottle of Imovane costs me $1.00. I decided to stick with Imovane.

 

[Retired]

Do you mean to say that in your Province a referral to a sleep clinic is not covered by your Provincial Health Plan?

As I understand it there are a number of disorders that can affect one's ability to fall asleep, to remain asleep and in the amount, timing and quality of sleep.

The doctor also evaluates for secondary causes for sleep disorders like anxiety and depression and if these might be combined with any of the primary causes.

Multiple neurotransmitters play a role in sleep and how you sleep during the various phases of sleep, REM vs non REM sleep can only be done in a sleep lab.

If it affects your quality of life to a degree that it causes you this amount of distress, it might be worth getting an evaluation, perhaps even if it involved sacrificing one or two vacation trips for your quality of sleep.

While Imovane is an excellent hypnotic medication, known for producing good quality sleep, it does not treat associated disorders or more complex sleep disorders that need specific interventions. It would be like taking an aspirin for pain from appendicitis...you may get temporary relief for a while, but unless the root cause of the problem is not addressed, you cannot make progress.

 

[Banned]

The referral is $150 and a night at the sleep clinic is $1800. While there might be something going on during sleep, I'm more concerned with the anxiety that creeps in at night in anticipation of going to bed.

 

[W00BY]

Yes I do turtle I was speaking to my therapist about it today...it is literally lack of activity to distract your mind...I find my very worst moments are right before I dose off as my mind is at it's most relaxed and suddenly I wide awake and so stressed I could climb the walls...

I then take myself off down stairs and watch the tv...I find occupying the mind at this point with anything not that taxing helps...it could be you are very tired and prone to feeling more anxiety at this point...I know I am not that fun to be around when really tired...I did yoga for many years as well...I used to do it an hour before bedtime and that seemed to help.

Now I just accept it for what it is and even deal with the flashbacks that accompany it at times by accepting it is just what happens and that I can control what my mind focuses on...even my partner has got to understand it he used to be very upset I would get back up and take it as some kind of rebuff but now he knows that I do come back and that I am lying there so stressed I need to get up.

My advice is tinker with things to do at this point you may even develop a new interest...one that require you to tiptoe around!

 

[Retired]

I'm more concerned with the anxiety that creeps in at night in anticipation of going to bed.

...and if you have experienced nightmares since childhood, it's understandable that you might have anxiety prior to night time sleep, in anticipation of the prospect of a nightmare.

Sleep disorders appear to be complex and need to be treated by a specialist who can determine the nature of the disorder and it's possible causes.
good quality sleep should not be underestimated and should be investigated by a competent specialist, in my view.

 

[rdw]

I am a terrible sleeper and find that having the television on helps to slow my mind. My mind reacts strangely to medication - immovane did not work well for me. At the moment I am using melatonin to help me relax and sleep. My mind races and my thoughts just whirl like crazy at night. And of course any problem that seems manageable during the day reaches epic proportions as I try to fall asleep. To be honest when I do have a good nights sleep it is memorable .

 

[Banned]

I think my brain does it's switch from normal to hypomanic at night...I'm convinced of it. And I don't have enough time to wind down after work before going to bed. I finish work at 1am and I'm in bed at 1:02 so my mind just starts going a million miles a minute. I've been taking either a Clonazepam or an Imovane about half an hour before I finish work when needed and that helps, but I've gone about a week without either which is good.

I also just downloaded a sleep app to my iPhone I've been trying out. It seems to be good at relaxing me so far...

 

[rdw]

Sleep ap - what's the name? I'd be interested in trying that

 

[Banned]

It's on my iPhone. It's called Relax M.P. There's a free version or a paid version. I hate all the stupid pop up ads so I bought it for two or three bucks.

 

[Banned]

Well, reading this thread before bed last night wasn't such a great idea cause guess what? I had nightmares. Argh. But at least I slept through them...