Prioritizing a good night’s sleep isn’t just important for your general health, it can also help with feelings of anxiety, as your body is less likely to feel overwhelmed or on edge when you’ve slept well. Thus, Somniphobia is the fear of sleeping or falling asleep. It does the nerves some good. Human beings are very capable of subsequently making a concerted effort to try and sleep. Over time, this helped the participant’s bedtimes become consistent. The simple answer is often the individual who can't sleep is anxious about not sleeping. For many people, cutting out caffeine from their diet can be very difficult, but caffeine can greatly hamper your ability to fall asleep. Do not let the fear of not sleeping have an adverse impact on your professional life. An overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism) can cause sleep problems. Some of the most severe cases of panic attacks may cause agoraphobia or the fear of leaving the home. For those people that are diagnosed with a legitimate anxiety disorder, the condition is unlikely to go away. The fear of not sleeping has more to do with what doctors would call insomnia, which is the failure to fall asleep. Below are some tips to try in order to improve your chances of falling asleep naturally. Winnie Yu for WebMD suggests creating a nightly routine can help relax your body as it starts to anticipate and expect sleep as you follow through each step. Being easily startled or feeling constantly “on edge.”. fear of not sleeping. PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — Sleep is critical to our health and wellbeing, especially when it comes to repairing the brain. Trouble remembering certain details about the event or blocking it out entirely. Stop staying up late on weekends and stop sleeping in late on weekend mornings. PTSD is characterized by recurring fears or stresses despite the sufferer no longer being near that event nor in a situation that is life-threatening. Sometimes all it really requires is understanding why you are not sleeping. The fear of not sleeping mostly has to do with your state of mental preparedness ahead of the next day of work/school. During sleep, our heart and blood vessels are being healed and repaired. Many people may stress about not getting enough sleep to function, but the stress alone of trying to sleep can cause people to sit awake for hours. People fear many things: flying, heights, drowning, blood and bodily injuries, even death. 40 million Americans suffer from anxiety disorders, difficulty of treating those with comorbid anxiety and insomnia, a 2019 study published by The Lancet Psychiatry, insomnia can lead to other medical issues, lack of sleep can increase a person’s risk of dying, lack of sleep could impair the brain’s ability to process negative emotions or experiences, “Mindfulness: the Art of Cultivating Resilience”, build a strategy for a better night’s sleep, That’s a wrap….. as is 2020 with Maya Nahra, Power Breath Workshop for Military Leaders, The Alignment Exercise 3 Part Video By Maya Nahra, Safeguarding Your Employees’ Mental Health, 5 science-backed ways to stop Covid-19 pandemic stress right now. Type 1: highly distressed, often struggling with neuroticism or prone to anxiety and feeling tense. Finally, if you’re still struggling to find sleep, you can always resort to seeking out therapy. Additionally, anxiety can be a side effect of other, more serious psychiatric conditions, which can add to the difficulty of treating those with comorbid anxiety and insomnia. Stress causes anxiety and then anxiety leads to a lack of sleep and possibly insomnia. My friend was referencing the fear of not getting enough sleep so we can function to our full capacity every day. Most of us greatly enjoy being awake. After this lousy night of sleep, a negative association develops, and sleep begins to be linked with insomnia. In these cases, the brain may flood the body with adrenaline, causing a person to experience heart palpitations, shortness of breath, or causing them to lose their concentration at work or school. Listen to calming music as you brush your teeth, change, and get ready for bed. However, earlier fears and habits can persist into adulthood. Conduct an analysis of your behavior and try to establish why it is that you are unable to sleep. The National Institute of Mental Health states that about 7.7 million adults suffer from PTSD in America. The fear of sleep is related to fear of the unknown. Anxiety. It seems like such a simple thing to do but so many of us simply do not do it. As mentioned earlier, the Guardian article “A Cure for Insomnia” dives deep into a successful sleep study. Sometimes, something as simple as the medication and treatment you are on for those conditions – and others – could be at the heart of your sleep-deprived problems. However, it’s not uncommon to experience anxiety related to sleep. In addition, insomnia may also result in an increased risk for accidents due to daytime sleepiness or may cause other issues related to work and school. "You worry that you are not able to sleep," he said, "and as a result you are not able to sleep." Often, one of the most ineffective ways to fall asleep is to try to force yourself to … Negative thoughts about the self as well as the world. Now I have a full day ahead with my two lovely little daughters that require my attention. Unfortunately for many people, getting to sleep and staying asleep isn’t as easy as it should be. Your behavior and habits could very well be at the source of the problem. Using a night light or keeping the light on is not a big deal if you don't disturb others. If you're having trouble falling asleep, you may begin to worry about being poorly rested and not being able to function the next day. If this means spending the whole night awake, not getting any sleep, then try saving this technique for the weekend so you can catch some sleep when your body naturally wants to sleep. That is to say, the more you think about and try to sleep, the less likely you are to actually fall asleep. All three of those things are totally frightening to most human beings, especially the last one which ultimately requires a complete lifestyle change. Fear of Not Sleeping on the Road Roxanne Darling October 06, 2017 One of my fears in starting the RV life with my partner, Shane, was about sleep. The less you sleep, the more negative emotion you are likely to encounter. You may experience racing thoughts as well as physical symptoms, such as gastrointestinal issues. Short sleep increases your risk of stroke and heart disease. Ornithophobia – The fear of birds. The level of anxiety that it creates has a similar impact to that which would be created by the failure to study enough for an examination or practice enough for a competitive sports fixture. Relaxation techniques like meditation can assist with this. Shares 5 Share Tweet Email. Additionally, both conditions can play off each other, making the other worse. Monophobia – The fear of being alone. In addition to that, there are also very real health risks associated with a lack of sleep. Occasional anxiety is not a cause for concern, but many Americans experience a much more acute, recurring, and overpowering sense of anxiety, which can be the development of an anxiety disorder. fear of sleep Spectrophobia: fear of mirrors Stasiphobia: fear of standing or walking Submechanophobia: fear of partially or fully submerged man-made objects: T. Phobia Condition Taphophobia, taphephobia fear of graves, or fear of being placed in a grave while still alive Ok so for a couple of months now i've been terrified of not being able to sleep, even though I normally sleep fine. Once you do start feeling sleepy, allow yourself to go to bed and focus on your breathing instead of any other anxieties. Additionally, some recent studies, such as one conducted by Harvard Health, have come to find that “blue light” (any light that is blue in hue, which is common with televisions, laptops, and smartphones) can keep the brain active, stimulated, and awake, as it suppresses the secretion of the hormone melatonin. They will also tell you that a lack of sleep will likely shorten your life expectancy. Ensuring a Restful Environment Establish a bedtime ritual. Transforming stress through awareness, education and collaboration. That really does knock everything off-kilter. This can include being unable to leave the home before turning off all the dials in the house and checking all the locks twice, or feeling a compelling urge to drive a specific route in order to avoid potential (but not real) dangers. Additionally, sleep also helps boost our metabolism. The most intense form of social phobia is agoraphobia or the fear of leaving the house or being in public. If you suffer from sleep anxiety, Winnie Yu also suggests in her WebMD article “Scared to Sleep” that shifting your perspective can help some people gain more sleep. The National Institute of Mental Health notes that 6 million adults in America have a panic disorder. Glossophobia – The fear of public speaking. Most commonly, this arises in relation to school, work, or public places. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. Remember that you may not achieve success overnight, but a process of teaching you, your mind and your body good habits to get you relaxed and sleeping. Regardless, redecorating your bedroom for a more comfortable and quiet environment can do wonders for your sleep health. A person cannot survive without sleep, so you will have to get some needed sleep ASAP. Creating a warm bath to sit in for a few minutes prior to going to bed. Atychiphobia – The fear of failure. Additionally, insomnia can cause adverse mental health side effects, including: One study found that the lack of sleep could impair the brain’s ability to process negative emotions or experiences, which in turn can increase a person’s chances of developing mental illnesses such as depression or anxiety. As PsychCentral discusses in “Mindfulness: the Art of Cultivating Resilience” acting mindfully can help individuals make radical shifts in how they think and perceive situations by looking at them without judgment. Not everyone with chronic insomnia develops fear of sleeplessness. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): GAD is a form of anxiety that people may experience for extended periods of time, normally more than six months, and is a response to stress related to work, personal health, social interactions, or everyday routines. Anxiety can cause you to not sleep well. Sleep … This can include: Combine this tip with going to bed and getting up at the same time every day, and you may be able to create a relaxing sleep routine that will help your body naturally get sleepy. The fear of not sleeping mostly has to do with your state of mental preparedness ahead of the next day of work/school. You want to try and calm your mind, you want to try and calm your muscles. I was recently asked a question about the fear of not sleeping. Trying to implement some of the strategies outlined above and you will certainly be on your way to achieving some sleep. Sleep.org reports that having a night light can be helpful, just as long as you have the right bulbs, and it is placed appropriately so it does not disturb your sleep cycle. Although it may not have a fancy name, the extreme or irrational fear of sleeping alone qualifies as a phobia. 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