You know the scenario: It’s nighttime. You’re cozy under the bed covers, drifting off to sleep. Then, your eyes fly open.
Wow, that was a big credit card bill this month. It’s time to make a budget. Your boss made that weird comment yesterday. Are you on thin ice at work? Forget work—are we on the brink of a world war? And what the heck is going on with that weird mole?
Before you know it, the worries are flooding your brain. You’re wracked with anxiety—and sleep isn’t coming any time soon.
“I think we’ve all had that experience where we seem to spiral at night and, in the morning—in the light of day—whatever you were stressing about the night before sometimes seems almost ridiculous,” says neuropsychologist Sanam Hafeez.
And that’s a problem. Lack of sleep seriously affects our ability to function, says licensed clinical psychologist and Brown University assistant professor Kristen Stone, who specializes in behavioral sleep medicine. Without enough sleep, we may experience reduced ability to pay attention, delayed reaction times, and lack of impulse control. And “enough” sleep isn’t just stitching together interrupted sleep.
“If you get eight hours of very fragmented sleep, you’re not significantly better off than someone who gets four hours of consolidated sleep,” she says.
Monsters in the Dark
There are a few reasons why anxiety spikes in the middle of the night.
