Does Anxiety Cause Insomnia?
Having an anxious temperament or high levels of stress is not a guarantee of insomnia, but having anxiety makes insomnia more likely. When stressful events happen in life: like a challenging academic program requiring all-nighters, or a new infant waking up frequently in the night, anxiety about getting enough sleep makes it hard to actually relax into sleep.
For example, thoughts like “If this insomnia continues I’m going to fail my exam” increase stress levels and prevent sleep. This person may then may begin habits that get in the way of quality sleep like increased caffeine intake, trying to go to bed earlier but then just lying awake or scrolling on screens. These habits might work in the short term but in the long-term they fuel insomnia.
You may have heard of the classic Pavlov dog experiment in which dogs were trained to salivate at the ring of a bell.
The bell and food were associated strongly which caused the dog to salivate in anticipation of the food. This applies to humans and sleep as well. The bed or bedroom can be associated with insomnia and stress. If you’re doing work in the bed or doing any stressful activities in bed, your body will not prepare for sleep while you are in bed and may even become more alert. If someone feels relaxed and even sleepy while watching TV on the couch but as soon as they get into bed feel wide awake, this might be due to an association between the bed and alertness or stress.
While some people have anxiety about not getting enough sleep, others have anxiety about sleep itself. This can arise from a variety of factors such as disturbing nightmares, trauma associated with sleep, fears of vulnerability while sleeping and so on. Worry about what will happen while asleep understandably makes it very difficult to fall asleep.
If you have sleep anxiety and want to learn more, know that there is an effecitve treatment called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). You can learn more about this on the sleep anxiety page or talk with your doctor about CBT-I.