Do you want to sleep better to improve anxiety? Well, believe it or not, it could be the key. But, how do you do that if you have anxiety, you may ask? Great question.
Watch this video to learn how anxiety affects your brain and for tips on how to sleep better. If you want to read about it too, then continue below.
4 Tips to Sleep Better to Improve Anxiety.
Relax in the Evening
Wow. What a novel concept, relaxation. What have we done to ourselves as a society? Relaxation is for the weak these days. I think relaxation is for the wise. I definitely have a “work hard, play hard” mentality. As you will read below, if you love your work it won’t feel like work. Once you get down working for the day, now it is time to relax. I know so many people that are literally never, I mean never, done working. The work is always there to be done. Guess what? It WILL always be there to be done if you don’t take breaks from it. Not fake breaks. I know lots of other people, some of which are the same people, who pretend to relax but are actually thinking about work in their head and sneaking in work while pretending to be engaged in relaxation. Oh, the stories I could tell you, but I digress. Relax, for real.
Read or Watch Something Inspiring Just Before Sleep
Make the last piece of information that goes into your brain for the night calm your brain, relax your mind, and inspire you to get up and be on purpose the next day. This is even more essential if you struggle with anxiety and tend to have many negative thoughts swirling around up there. I call this notion “positive juju”. I consume lots of positive juju each and every day to ward off negative thoughts for good. It mostly works!
Take Breaks Throughout Your Day to Keep Anxiety Down.
Breaks throughout the day help prevent your brain from getting away from you. What I mean by getting away is the increase in the use of extra fast High Beta brain speed. High Beta creates and perpetuates anxiety, stress, overwhelm, and the feeling of never being done. So, go for a daily walk, workout, eat a nutritious lunch slowly (not at your desk), eat dinner with your family, watch a youtube video, and laugh out loud. Take breaks.
Create a Life You Love Instead of Making Things Happen
I know in my own life it is a daily struggle between “making things happen” and staying on purpose to create the life I believe I am destined to live. This situation looks like this. I start the day writing this blog post because it is important to me and I really want this message to get to you. But then think to myself, “I have good hair today. Maybe I should make as many videos as possible (as if any listener cares how good I think my hair is that day). Crazy, right? So, I set off on recording lots of (slightly random) videos. You probably have noticed them. Sigh.
Creating Vs. Making
Then I remind myself that what is truly important is the blog post. I really want the world to know how we all are ruining our own sleep with our million thoughts and our seemingly tight grip on control of our lives. So, I get back to writing this post, 2 hours, and 33 random videos later.
Creating keeps our brains in low beta perfectly fast brain speed for thinking and mental productivity. the act of pushing to make things happen puts our brains into scattered High Beta. Using extra fast speed reduces our efficiency and makes us less productive over time.
How Does Anxiety Affect Sleep?
When you are anxious or stressed during the day, it prevents your brain from slowing down enough to get a good night’s sleep that night. Anxiety has been proven by science to disrupt sleep. That is why taking breaks can help your brain from going faster and faster throughout the day. Also, this is why relaxing in the evening helps your brain come down from the day. Reading or watching something inspiring can help slow you down even further so that you get better sleep. It is all about the speed that your brain is using.
How Does Decreasing Anxiety Help?
Decreasing anxiety helps you to shift into the sleep cycle so that you can get restorative sleep during the night. Restorative sleep helps you to feel refreshed and allows you to be more productive with greater ease. That way you can wake up, feel like a rockstar, and go out and create a life that you love.
What If I Can’t Sleep Better With These Tips?
Some people have been using the anxiety brain pattern for so long it has hard-wired itself into your brain to become your new operating mode. If that feels like you, then you likely could benefit from Home Neurofeedback Brain Training or a Personal Neuro Training program with coaching from me. The differences are listed on this page about the Different Levels of Neurofeedback. Usually, people struggling with long-term anxiety need Neurofeedback to shift their brains out of the anxiety mode. The Home Neurofeedback Coaching Program is offered through my professional office, Leigh Brain & Spine. But don’t worry, I will be your Neuro Coach. Once your brain is performing better, then the tips, techniques, and strategies are much easier to use successfully. If you are interested in learning more about Home Neurofeedback Coaching Program schedule your discovery session HERE.
