1 "They didn't text me back , did I do something wrong" !

2 I still need to do all those jobs tomorrow .

3 "Why was I not productive today" ?

4 "They probably think I'm weird" !

5 I need to get my life together , it's a mess .

6 "What if something bad happens to me while I'm asleep" ?

7 Does he/she still like me , do they want to break up ?

8 "How many hours of sicep am I going to get if I go to sleep now" ?

Do you also get thoughts like these while sleeping ?? This is what sleeping with anxiety actually feels like !

The reason we feel more anxious at night time is because we don't have the distractions of the day to help distract us from our irrational thoughts and physical symptoms of anxiety . The first thing you do when getting into bed is switch the light off ! We are losing our visual distraction which then makes the mind concentrate on our other sensations and our attention focuses INWARDS . If your mind starts to race when you are trying to drift off and this kick starts an anxious physical response you are going to notice the physical sensations all that much more . This can lead us into a cycle of panic ! We can then get frustrated and worried that we aren't going to be able to get to sleep or we aren't going to have enough hours further fuelling the anxiety and keeping us awake .

Top tip - if you are anxious in bed get up and do something mindful such as reading , the process of reading a book can help your eyes naturally get tired and help you get back to sleep naturally . Focus your attention outwards !