Is this causing your anxiety?
Hi there! I hope you are managing to stay sane and have somewhat of a routine during this unique time.
I’ve enjoyed more time at home but am still navigating between work and relaxation that now all happens in the same place!
I know this time is causing major anxiety for most people. Everyday seems to be filled with alarming news with no end in sight.
I’ve found it challenging to stay up to date with everything that is going on and remain balanced and happy.
Can you relate?
While more time at home is a perfect opportunity to put some self-care practices in place, I’m seeing the trend go in the opposite direction.
Have you felt any of the following? The need to constantly be on social media sharing news and resources, streaming the news and getting stuck in the fear spiral, and even getting caught up in what your friends are sharing on social media.
It’s A LOT. And a major disservice to your mental health. Yes, please be informed of current issues, but not at the cost of your sanity.
Which is why I wanted to talk about a major cause of anxiety that most people overlook.
It’s especially important to focus on this all important facet of your life during these challenging times.
I would even argue that this needs to be your #1 priority because it sets the stage for your overall mental and physical health.
And if you know me well, you probably get annoyed of me talking about it all the time!
I’m talking about none other than SLEEP! Yes, sleep needs to be the most important thing in your self-care arsenal.
Now I’m not prompting everyone to just go sleep all day and then you’ll be happy.
But what I am saying is that you need to get high quality sleep in order to feel and look your best. Every. single. night.
Before I talk about ways to ensure you’re getting a quality night’s rest, let’s talk about why it’s important for mental health.
Every 90 minutes, you cycle between 2 major categories of sleep. Deep sleep is when muscles relax, heart rate drops, and in the deepest form of sleep your body produces immune-boosting psychological changes.
The other category, REM, is when a person is dreaming and their heart rate increases. Studies show that REM enhances learning and memory and contributes to emotional health in a big way.
Although the science is fairly new on this, studies show that sleep disruption actually affects your levels of stress hormones and impair thinking and emotional regulation.
So even just a few nights of not enough sleep or interrupted sleep can take a huge toll on your mental outlook.
If you are really sleep deprived, your body will be in constant survival mode due to exhaustion. This is an instant recipe for anxiety and depression.
When I was first starting my journey in healing anxiety and taking more notice of my thoughts, I also had trouble sleeping.
All my life I had been a deep sleeper, but now I was having issues turning off my brain and falling asleep.
And when I finally fell asleep, I would wake up way too early, feeling exhausted.
There was even one weekend I remember vividly where I had 3 nights of very little sleep and by Sunday my anxiety was through the roof.
It was then that I realized I had to make sleep a priority and it was a non-negotiable.
Nothing else in your life can mimic the internal changes that sleep elicits. Especially if you are struggling with your mental health, this is above everything else.
And if you rely on caffeine to ‘wake you up’ you are adding more fuel to the fire (more to come on this in another post.)
So we talked about why sleep is so important, but what is good quality sleep anyway?
For me, it means 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep with the following time spent in each sleep stage:
Awake (5-20% range)
REM (15-25% range)
Light (40-60% range)
Deep (12-23% range)
I track my sleep using my Fitbit, I highly recommend you get a device to track your sleep. There’s plenty of options available now!
Quality sleep also means going to bed around 10-10:30 pm. Studies show that falling asleep before midnight fosters higher quality sleep.
I also wear ear plugs and an eye mask every single night. Once I started using ear plugs I never went back! And during the summer here in the Pacific Northwest, the days are very long (10 pm sunset) so the eye mask is especially important.
It took me some time to get into a good rhythm of sleep but here’s some ways for you to start getting higher quality rest:
Turn off screens 1 hour before bed
Read a novel or something light-hearted before sleep
Journal about any lingering anxieties to get it out of your head
Invest in a sleep tracker, ear plugs, eye mask or black out curtains
Drink sleep enhancing tea
Try deep breathing or meditation to relax your body
Aim to go to sleep and get up at the same time every day
Set a timer to remind yourself to go to bed if you’re a night owl
Limit your daily use of social media and news consumption, this will help keep your mind clear throughout the day and it will be easier to fall asleep
You may think you can survive on less sleep but in most cases, you can’t. You also may not even know what it feels like to be well rested. It’s truly life changing once you let your body rest.
So now I want to hear from you, how is your relationship with sleep? What new routines will you practice?
