How Healthy Sleep Habits Can Help Reduce Anxiety

Anxiety is incredibly common — it’s estimated that approximately 19% of adults in the U.S. regularly struggle with anxious feelings. It’s not surprising that anxiety affects so many people. Adult life is full of stressors, both normal and abnormal, all of which can trigger some degree of anxiety. While there is no single cure for feeling anxious, cultivating healthy sleep habits can have a multitude of positive effects.

What is “Healthy Sleep”?

Sleep deprivation has been shown to contribute greatly to anxiety. Getting a healthy amount of sleep, on the other hand, has been shown to improve memory, sharpen attention, spur creativity, lead to fewer accidents, encourage physical wellness, and even reduce depression. Essentially, healthy sleep leads to greater mental and physical resiliency and responsiveness, which can make anxiety much more manageable.

On average, most adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep every night to stay healthy. Healthy sleep isn’t just about lying in bed for a certain number of hours — the quality of your sleep also plays a big role in sleep’s calming and restorative effects.

Daily Habits for Promoting Healthy Sleep

One of the best ways to consistently get healthy sleep is to practice daily habits that help improve sleep quality and duration. The positive, anxiety-reducing effects of many of these habits are an added bonus.

Good sleep habits can also form a reliable foundation for a calmer, more stable life. Anxiety is often caused by a sense of having little or no control over an environment, a future prospect, or a specific chain of events. Establishing a consistent pattern of good sleep can inculcate a sense of normalcy and stability that will help lessen the negative effects of stress and anxiety.

Bedtimes, Screens, and Pre-Bedtime Rituals

One of the best methods for consistently getting quality sleep is establishing a bedtime for most nights of the week and a wake-up time for most mornings. These times don’t have to be rigidly adhered to. For instance, staying up late to socialize on weekend nights is perfectly healthy (although it’s best not to stay up too late), but the more consistent you are, the better.

It’s also known that looking at a screen — a phone, a computer, a television — right before going to bed can make it much harder to fall asleep and can negatively impact overall quality of sleep. Sleep experts advise putting screens away for the night at least 30 minutes before getting into bed.

Following a nightly, pre-bedtime routine can make it easier to shut down electronics for the evening, prepare the body and mind for rest, and establish a consistent bedtime. For example, a 30-minute bedtime routine could include taking a shower, doing a few gentle stretches, and meditating.

A routine like this will also establish a time during the day when your only goal is relaxation, which is helpful for anxiety. No task needs to be done, no problem needs to be solved — the only thing to do is wash up, relax, and get ready to go to sleep.

Daily Exercise and Time Spent Outdoors

Both daily exercise and time spent outdoors have been shown to improve quality and duration of sleep and reduce anxiety. Research has shown that as little as half an hour spent exercising outside can have enormously positive impacts on quality of sleep and can greatly reduce anxiety. All it takes is a daily 30-minute walk.

For added benefits, it’s best to put all electronic devices on silent and avoid looking at them during periods of outdoor exercise. This establishes time spent exercising as a personal, restorative space free of mental burdens, which can help soothe anxiety.

Consuming Less Alcohol and Caffeine

Both caffeine and alcohol can negatively impact quality of sleep. Each disrupts or inhibits the essential stages of sleep, and caffeine can make it harder to fall asleep in the first place.

Caffeine and alcohol can also have negative impacts on anxiety. Excess consumption of caffeine can induce anxiety symptoms, while chronic drinking has been shown to contribute to the development of anxiety.

While not consuming alcohol or caffeine at all will likely contribute the greatest benefits to sleep and anxiety, moderating your consumption can still have meaningfully positive effects. Limiting your caffeine consumption to one beverage a day — preferably in the morning — can help lessen feelings of anxiety and make it easier to fall asleep and get good sleep at night. Similarly, limiting alcohol consumption to only a couple of beverages one or two nights per week can dramatically improve your overall sleep quality and reduce the frequency of anxious feelings.

In all, there are a variety of daily practices that can be implemented to help establish healthy sleep habits and alleviate anxiety. Solutions will vary to some degree from person to person, so it’s worth trying a few things out to see what works best. Nevertheless, following a few simple daily habits can have a profoundly positive effect.