During the day, you’re completely fine. Your days are filled with your job, chores, to-do lists, and tasks. You keep yourself busy, and you’re not really able to focus on much else besides crossing items off of your to-do list.

That’s how you like it. You prefer it even. You’d rather be busy than bored, right? If only you could keep this same mentality and focus when it’s time to go to bed. At night, you’ve noticed that your anxious thoughts start to creep back into the forefront. Those same thoughts that you’re able to push aside during the day come spiraling in, and they’re all you can think about.

Even on the days that you’re exhausted and need sleep, you can’t seem to quiet your brain enough to fall asleep or stay asleep during the night.

Is it normal for anxiety to be worse at night? Let’s find out!

There are Fewer Distractions

It’s true. Anxiety does tend to be worse at night for most people. That’s because, during the day, you’re able to distract your mind with other thoughts. Your days are filled with things like going to work, taking care of your family, running errands, or doing housework. At night, your main focus is trying to relax before going to sleep. You’re not trying to complete any activity or cross any items off of your to-do list. This means that there’s more room for those anxious and unwanted thoughts to circle back in.

Your Day is Catching Up With You

Another one of the main causes of nighttime anxiety is the type of day that you had. A lot of anxiety is actually caused by things that happened in your past. If your day was stressful, nerve-wracking, chaotic, and overwhelming, there’s a good chance you weren’t able to actually process or deal with those emotions and feelings. That’s why they creep back in at night because you were able to dismiss them earlier in the day when you originally felt them creeping in. The thing about emotions is that you have to deal with them at some point.

You’re Thinking About The Next Day

Another main cause of anxiety is from worrying about things that haven’t even occurred yet in your future. Thinking about the things that you have to get done the next day can prevent you from getting the proper amount of sleep that you need in order for your body to function to the best of its ability. You can’t physically work 24/7. No one can.

Make sure you’re making reasonable to-do lists so you’re able to get an adequate amount of work done each day. Guess what? The work will still be there when you wake up in the morning. You’ll get it done, just like you did the day before. There’s no use in staying up later and stressing about it. If you do that, you’ll actually cause your body more harm than good. You need to get enough sleep so that you have the energy, concentration, and mental focus to cross those items off of that to-do list.

Next Steps

It’s completely normal if you’re experiencing worsening anxiety at night. You’re not alone if you’re struggling with some of the signs and symptoms of anxiety either. Anxiety is a normal human emotion. It’s just as common as happiness, sadness, anger, and jealousy. That being said, if you start to notice that your anxiety is starting to impact your daily life and routine, it may be a good indicator that there’s a larger issue at play.

We can help you. Reach out today to set up a consultation for anxiety therapy.