Bedtime anxiety: why your mind switches on when the light goes out

Disturbed sleep and anxiety feed each other^[2]: lack of sleep makes the nervous system more reactive, and that reactivity gets in the way of sleep. The psychological approaches to anxiety that NICE describes as effective^[3] also improve sleep^[4], although some of the difficulties with sleep may remain and need work of their own.

Give anxiety an appointment: 15 minutes in the evening, a couple of hours before bed, with pen and paper. Write out everything that is going round in your head, and next to each item note when you will come back to it. In my experience, what has been written down is easier to let go of. Put screens away an hour before bed: your feeds and the news are fuel for anxiety. The bed is for sleep only: if you have not fallen asleep within twenty minutes, get up, sit in dim light with a boring book, and come back when you are sleepy^[1]. The long out-breath works lying down too.

If these rituals have not helped after a month or more, if the morning begins with anxiety, if your sleep has fallen apart in the wake of events you cannot put behind you — that is something to bring to a specialist. If you snore with pauses in your breathing, or feel very sleepy during the day, see a doctor first.

You can check what is happening with your sleep using the “Sleep quality” test; the gentle audio practice “Calm sleep” helps you build an evening ritual.