Bedtime Anxiety? 10 Simple Hacks for a Better Nights Sleep
Are you someone who yearns for a good night’s sleep but just can’t as your mind is working overtime?
This has been me at many points in my life, so I know that lack of sleep can affect every single part of your day. Your energy, your mood, your relationships, your focus.
Every task and interaction you have is impacted if you can’t get enough zzzz’s at night.
You may not be sleeping due to stress and anxiety, and this lack of sleep will actually make you more stressed and anxious. It’s a vicious cycle.
So let’s talk about some solutions to quiet your mind at night.
These tips to help you relax at bedtime are hacks I’ve been using over the years, especially when stress gets the better of me.
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3 Simple Tips to Get Rid of Anxiety at Night and Get to Sleep:
1. Figure out what’s making you anxious
By knowing what is causing your stress you can start to do something about it.
Whatever is triggering you, write it ALL down. Every single thing.
This way, you can see in black and white what your stressors are.
You may not have even realized exactly what has been causing your anxiety, but going through this process will help to uncover what’s been keeping you up at night.
Tip: Keep a notebook by your bed so you can jot things down when they arise.
2. Don’t Be a Procrastinator
Easier said than done, right?!
Sometimes our nighttime stress comes from all the things we need to do in our lives.
You know you have made a big list in your mind – probably too big. This is causing your mind some serious stress.
Many times, anxiety can be our body’s way of letting us know that we need to come up with an actionable solution.
Here’s what you can do:
- Write down everything you have on your to-do list
- Once you have it all written down, highlight your 5 biggest stressors.
- Now that you have determined the biggest items that are affecting you, write down 3 action items you can take to reduce your stress.
- Act on those items!
Once you have done this, you can make a plan for everything else on your list, but just focus on the top 5 right now.
You may even decide that some items are not worth being on the list. If they aren’t stressing you out, get rid of them!
The whole point of this particular exercise is to help you sleep better. Don’t forget that 🙂
You will find that once you know what you’re doing and you have a plan, you won’t think about these stressors much at night.
You can rely on the fact that you’ve already started taking care of things. This is a good feeling!
3. Preparation is Everything
Okay, so this statement makes sense in all parts of our lives.
Think about it this way…
You go to bed thinking about all the things you need to do:
- What you’ll be wearing tomorrow
- How long it will take you to get to an appointment
- What you need to make for lunch
- Trying to figure out next steps on a big project
When you have all of these to-dos on your mind, you aren’t going to get any sleep!
Do yourself a favour and dedicate 30 minutes at night to making sure you have everything together for the next day.
It may seem like a pain at first, especially if you are tired, but trust me – once you get the hang of it, your 30 minutes will actually reduce to 10 or 15 minutes.
A few tips to prepare for the next day:
- Take a mental note or review your calendar for the following day. See what you have going on.
- Depending on your schedule you can plan accordingly
- If you have a big project you’re working on, write down all the next steps or action items instead of trying to remember them the next day.
Natural Sleep Aids to Reduce Anxiety and Get to Sleep
Now that we have discussed 3 key ways to help you reduce nighttime anxiety, let’s talk about some sleep aids that I personally swear by.
Prepping for Bed
1. Make yourself a non-caffeinated hot drink
This Golden Milk Tea, or some call it a Golden Latte is my favourite.
It’s made with turmeric, cinnamon, and your choice of non-dairy milk. It makes me really sleepy and extremely relaxed.
Another great option is camomile tea. It is said that the relaxing compounds in camomile tea can help reduce stress and anxiety, so enjoy a cup in the evening as much as you can.
2. Give Lavender Essential Oil a Try
Lavender is known to have calming properties that can help you relax.
Here are some ways you can use lavender essential oil to help you get ready for bed:
- Add 1 drop of lavender essential oil to your night cream. Simply put the drop in your hand with the night cream and massage it into your face and neck.
- Diffuse your lavender oil. 4 to 5 drops is a good amount, depending on how pure your oils are.
- Here is a beautiful diffuser I have on my Amazon wish list!
- You can also make a lavender linen spray. Give a light spray to your pillow and sheets for an extra bit of calm 🙂
3. Read a Good Book
Reading before bed is a great self care activity but it’s also a good way to encourage sleep.
Ever notice as you’re turning the pages before bed that your eyes start to close? You can barely make it to the next page?
This is a process that can be enjoyed by escaping into a story and also prepares our body for sleep.
My current bedtime read: Brida by Paulo Coelho.
4. Keep technology out of the bedroom
Are you someone who charges your phone next to your bed? This is a no-no.
Who wants to be woken up by notifications and texts?
This means you have noise and light pollution in your bedroom. Not to mention who knows what harmful effects a mobile phone could have when charging next to your head all night long.
Now, if you aren’t able to remove your phone from the bedroom, make sure to plug it in on the other side of the room.
During the Night
1. Keep a notebook or journal beside your bed
This is perfect for the racing mind. Do you have something you keep thinking about or need to remember? Write it down and deal with it in the morning.
It’s also fun to write down your dreams if you’re an active dreamer.
2. Treat yourself to a noise machine
This is my absolute favourite sleep aid. I honestly can’y sleep without one.
If you are like me and love the sound of a fan when you are sleeping in the summer, then you have to try the noise machine I use every night.
There are 20 non-looping white noise and fan sounds. I have chosen a fan noise that sounds JUST like my fan in the summertime. Ahh – this honestly soothes me to sleep 🙂
There is also a free fan-sounding app I discovered recently, which I use when I’m travelling. Check it out: Sleep Fan Aid
3. Keep water beside your bed
No one needs more reasons to be woken up in the night. In the winter, we can get dry throats from the thermostat, so keep water on hand just in case.
Do you suffer from stress and anxiety at night?
If yes, which one of these tips are you going to try?
Here’s to having the good night’s sleep that you so deserve.
Related Mental Health Resources:
- How To Quiet Your Mind: 11 Strategies That Help
- 3 Natural Ways to Use Chinese Medicine for Anxiety Relief
- 50 Positive Mental Health Affirmations for Depression & Anxiety
- 35 Healthy Habits to Improve Mental Health
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Great tips for a good night’s sleep. Thanks for sharing.
I really enjoyed reading this thank you for your tips and tricks! It really means a lot!
I know we should keep technology out of the bedroom to reduce nighttime anxiety but I can’t live without the Insight Timer app on my phone! I make sure to turn my phone on silent mode so I don’t get any notifications for messages but I use this app (free by the way) to listen to meditation music or guided meditations. There’s one particular track called “Floating” in this app that’s a huge life-saver for me. I turn it on and I just let my mind focus on the soft music and I could fall asleep within minutes.
Oh wow! That app sounds amazing Sabrina! I would love to ‘float’ to get to sleep. Thanks for sharing – I am going to check it out for sure 🙂
I love all these tips! The one that helps me the most is getting stuff done /prepping the night before. And lavender.
Great tips!! Thank you!!
I don’t have anxiety personally, but I know a few people who do, and these are so good and helpful! Thank you!
These are great tips. Preparing for the next day and taking a few minutes to make sure the heavy traffic areas of the house are clean has been transformative for me. My hubby and I also started doing pre-bed tea. It’s such a great way to calm down and check it with each other!
I just started using a lavender roller ball scent stick. It has been great. I really need to stick with the bed time routine. I helps so much when I do it; I need to really make this a habit. In the winter I love Celestial Seasonings Cinnamon Apple tea. Great list of tips and reminders.
I agree!!! These tips help out so much! Reading and essential oils have done wonders for me! Unless it’s a really good book, then I tend to stay up waaay too late reading! 🙂
I aveb trouble shutting my brain off sometimes at night! I have used lavender and it helps, but I may try the getting rid of technology and reading a good book! Thanks for the suggestions!
These are great tips! I use a lot of them, but I’m excited to try the others – especially trying to stop using my phone in bed!!
My nighttime anxiety is always all about lack of money and a huge stack of medical debt. It is really hard to erase it all from my mind when it is such a huge struggle for our family. Thank you for the tips! I am going to have to try this so I can put my mind at ease!
These are great ideas! Planning ahead can rid us of all kinds of anxiety throughout our day.
I enjoyed this read a lot. Since our son was born, my wife has been losing a ton of sleep to anxiety issues. Hopefully some of these suggestions help!
These are all great tips as I am all for establishing an effective night time ritual for a good night’s rest! Drinking tea and using essential oils I have found extremely helpful. And a surefire tactic has been putting down the phone and picking up a book. I love to read and it’s one of the quickest ways I fall asleep.
Sleep is so important for our overall health. I love a nice hot beverage at night, it can really help the body relax. I also love the idea of getting a noise machine. It always calms me when I turn on white noise for my kids.
I think you should treat yourself to a noise machine too if you enjoy your kids one. I even take mine with me if I go somewhere overnight! It’s so soothing 🙂
Pretty useful , I think these tips will help for insomnia too , thanks a lot for sharing these tips
Thank you 🙂 Yes, these tips will absolutely help people who have insomnia as well. Thanks for the note!
I have heard of the Lavender and needed the reminder! You are so right on with the to do list rolling around your head. Just last night it rolled around and around in my head. Love the journal beside the bed. Sleep becomes such an issue as you get older. GRRR
Hey Karen! Yeah – when we get older the weight of the world can be on our shoulders, hence lack of sleep. Definitely give the journal a try so you can relax a little more. It really helps 🙂 xo
Some great tips. I really appreciated coming across this post, as this is definitely something I have been feeling lately. Everything seems worse at night!
I like your idea of writing everything down!
Hey Alexandra! Glad to hear this was helpful for you 🙂 Writing down your stresses to get them off your plate makes a world of difference!
These are all great ideas. I also use a noise machine or a fan, along with no technology, essential oils, and prepping for the following day before heading to bed. I like the idea of a notebook by the bed to write down thoughts that pop up.
Hey Colleen 🙂 Nice – you are a fellow noise machine/fan lover!
Great tips here. I used to write down the things I had to do the next day and this would help me not stress. I felt that since I had them writte down then I was sure that I wouldnt forget anything so no need to stress!
D, xo
Thanks D. Exactly! It’s a simple and efficient way to make sure you’re on top of things so you don’t need to worry when you should be sleeping!
For me it is usually because there is much going on or up coming and it stresses me out. Warm tea usually helps.
So true – warm tea can be just what you need to relax. As they say – it’s like a warm hug from the inside 🙂
The lavender linen spray is such a good idea! I’m a huge fan of writing things down too or else I’ll dwell on it all night and keep myself up. These are great tips.
Hi Judy, thanks for the note. Yeah, it’s amazing how writing things down ca temporarily get them off your mind. 🙂