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You know the scenario: It\u2019s nighttime. You\u2019re cozy under the bed covers, drifting off to sleep. Then, your eyes fly open.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Wow, that was a big credit card bill this month. It\u2019s time to make a budget. Your boss made that weird comment yesterday. Are you on thin ice at work? Forget work\u2014are we on the brink of a world war? And what the heck is going on with that weird mole<\/em>?<\/p>\n Before you know it, the worries are flooding your brain. You\u2019re wracked with anxiety\u2014and sleep isn\u2019t coming any time soon.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019ve all had that experience where we seem to spiral at night and, in the morning\u2014in the light of day\u2014whatever you were stressing about the night before sometimes seems almost ridiculous,\u201d says neuropsychologist Sanam Hafeez.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n And that\u2019s 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 \u201cenough\u201d sleep isn\u2019t just stitching together interrupted sleep.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you get eight hours of very fragmented sleep, you\u2019re not significantly better off than someone who gets four hours of consolidated sleep,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n There are a few reasons why anxiety spikes in the middle of the night.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\nMonsters in the Dark<\/h2>\n