

These are serious problems, and the research is there to show that anxiety and insomnia are connected. Understanding your own anxiety and insomnia cycleįorty million adults in the United States have an anxiety disorder, and anywhere from fifty to seventy million people have a sleep disorder. This is harmful to all of us, but it can be particularly damaging to those who already struggle with mental health, anxiety and insomnia. Our culture makes us feel like we need to be working all of the time, even if it means running ourselves dry and putting ourselves at risk for physical and mental health challenges. Lack of sleep can also cause trouble with completing daily tasks like driving, which puts us at a higher likelihood of getting injured – or injuring someone else. Sleeping too little can lead to a multitude of serious physical consequences such as the increased risk of heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, and trouble staying focused at work or school. Lack of sleep is often normalized or even encouraged in our society, but it shouldn’t be. A sleepless and anxious societyĪccording to a study released by the CDC, one out of every three adults in the United States gets an inadequate amount of sleep. Prefer to talk about your struggle instead of reading? Click Chat Now. People who are under constant stress or who have abnormally exaggerated responses to stress tend to have sleep problems.” “ Stress also affects sleep by making the body aroused, awake, and alert. Anxiety increases agitation and arousal, which make it hard to sleep. Epstein: “ Not only does sleep affect mood, but mood and mental states can also affect sleep. In a study of 10,000 adults, “people with insomnia were 20 times more likely to develop panic disorder,” a type of anxiety disorder, and according to Harvard MD, Lawrence J. Did you know that nearly all anxiety diagnoses list sleep disturbance or insomnia as potential symptoms? And that those with insomnia are much more likely to experience anxiety? The link between anxiety and insomnia is a cycle, and it’s time to break it.
