HEALTH
How to Worry Less and Sleep More
Does worry keep you from falling asleep at night? Do you lie
awake replaying the stressful
parts of your day, fretting about
money, stressing about your job,
wondering how your kids are doing in school? If worry keeps you
up at night, you’re far from alone.
Worrying at bedtime – and losing sleep to stress and anxiety – is
one of the most common sleep
complaints. Tossing and turning
with worries when we want to be
asleep is a frustrating experience.
Sleep loss from worry is also hazardous to health. Studies show
that people who lose sleep as a
result of worry are at an elevated
risk for cardiovascular problems.
For medical professionals, it’s important to
address the issue of stress and worry as a
barrier to sleep among working-age adults.
The years of middle age are when many
people are most vulnerable to the some
of the major stresses of life – financial ups
and downs, the death of parents, ongoing
worry related to work and to parenting. We
need to pay particular attention to women,
because their risk for sleep loss from worry
appears to be higher than men’s.
Dealing more constructively with worry-related sleep
loss isn’t just a job for the professionals. We all can take
basic steps to reduce our nighttime worrying and improve our sleep. Don’t wait for your doctor to bring up
the subject. If you’re having trouble sleeping and worry
or anxiety seem to be involved, make sure you bring up
the subject with your doctor. There are a number of lifestyle changes that can help, including regular exercise,
meditation and relaxation, and managing your alcohol
consumption.
Here’s another strategy recommended by experts: Start
keeping a worry journal. A worry journal is just what
it sounds like: A place to write down all the things that
are preoccupying your mind and causing you anxiety
or stress. The practice of keeping a worry journal allows
you to take your worries from your mind to the written
page, helping you to relax