According to a Sleep Foundation poll conducted in November 2023, 44% of American people said they frequently have difficulty falling asleep because of anxiety.
We talked to a few specialists to find out what typical concerns prevent people from sleeping well at night and what steps can be taken to lessen these tensions. These seven apprehensive ideas can be preventing you from sleeping at night:
"Get out of bed, turn on the lights, and jot down everything." Plan beforehand to minimise worry, suggests psychologist Faith Reyes. "Creating a to-do list boosts your sensation of control and motivation when you're feeling overwhelmed. Put the things you need to do tomorrow down so you can unwind."
Psychotherapist Gayle Weill notes that anxiety related to one's job might also keep people up at night. "This widespread anxiety disrupts sleep by generating a loop of contemplation and expectation, making it challenging to decompress and unwind," the expert explains.
Weill advises speaking with a therapist if you frequently feel that the pressure of getting to work in the morning is keeping you up at night.
"With therapy, people can learn coping mechanisms for handling challenging coworkers or bosses, or they can reframe their thoughts to create a more positive and manageable outlook for the next day," she says.
Alex Oliver-Gans, LMFT, a therapist who specialises in anxiety, suggests that if you're frequently preoccupied with work or other obligations during the day, you might discover that your thoughts shift to more existential issues at night.
Oliver-Gans advises "addressing those thoughts in an intentional, purposeful way, possibly with a therapist," to prevent you from worrying about whether your life is going in the correct path while you're attempting to fall asleep.
Financial concerns are perhaps the most frequent cause of anxiety that keeps people awake at night. A Sleep Foundation poll found that 77% of American adults confess to occasionally losing sleep due to financial concerns.
Cherry says you should address this ambiguity in order to reduce anxiety and resume healthy sleep patterns.
"Transforming the unknown into the better known, and shaping the life you dream of, is possible when you avoid money avoidance by addressing your wants and finances with financial planning," the author says.
Some folks lie in bed at night and mentally relive the day. As a result, according to Oliver-Gans, they can "start to think about something that happened earlier in the day and how they responded to it."
This could be a disagreement with your partner, a meeting at work that should have been conducted more effectively, or simply a typo in an email.
In any event, Oliver-Gans advises against lying awake worryingly ruminating on the past and instead focussing your thoughts on what you can accomplish moving forward.