anxiety attack as you fall asleep

[nht]

Hi, has anyone experienced anxiety/panic attack as soon as you fall asleep. I get this quite often during the day when I take a nap. I also get it in the morning after I wake up from some short perid of sleep, then try to fall sleep again. It makes you very scared of trying to sleep then you give up trying to sleep. You lose more and more sleep because of that. If someone has been through this how do you cope or prevent it from happening

[Narniakid]

Hi nht!

Firstly, do you have a pretty regular sleeping routine? If you chop and change the time of day you go to bed and when you wake up, it can really effect your body clock and you'll find you won't be able to fall asleep/get up very easily. Try to avoid napping during the day because it can make you feel disorientated and confused, which heightens your anxiety, and try to develop a regular sleeping routine i.e. roughly go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. 

I also highly recommend light reading a magazine or book before going to bed because it not only distracts you from your anxiety, it also calms the nervous system in the part of the brain that's keeping you awake. Avoid social media or heavy computer use as they are massive anxiety triggers right before bed. I also light a scented candle and keep a glass of water next to my bed to help calm myself before going to sleep.

I hope I've been able to help! 

Crystal

[nht]

Crystal

Thank you for your practical tips. Yes, I have only recently set a regular sleeping routine. I do yoga and meditation from 9 pm to 10, take my medication at 10, then go to bed at 10:30. My insomnia is bad in that about 2 nights a week I can't sleep at all, 3 nights I can sleep for about 2 hours, and 2 nights for about 5 hours. I used to take a sleeping tablet for sleep, but I am scared of becoming dependent on it, so I have stopped it. I take a magnesium supplement, and my anti-depressant medication is supposed to help me sleep, but still I can't get quality sleep for more than 3 nights a week. I hardly feel sleepy. I guess my anxiety is lurking in my subconscious mind ready to keep me awake. I also listen to YouTube guided mindfulness body scan meditation, it works sometimes

Thanks also for the other tips. Yes I will try to follow them

My real question was that when I try to nap during the day (to catch up on some lost sleep the previous night, but I shouldnt do that as you say), as soon as I start to fall asleep I'm suddenly startled to wake up with a panic attack. I wonder why this happens (thankfully it does not happen at night, only sometimes I get mild nocturnal panic attack, like a slight chill or hot flush which soon goes away). I also wonder if anyone else has a similar experience

[Doolhof]

Hi nht,

Welcome to Beyond Blue and tot he Community here. I hope you find some answers to your problem and stick around long enough to be involved in some of the other great conversations going on here.

Crystal has already offered you some great advice and good ideas of how to help with your sleep problem.

You can also Google "Sleep problems" or "Sleep Hygiene" as it is sometimes called and you will find some great advice there also. Strange name for sleep concerns! I wonder who thought that one up!

To add to Crystal's wonderful suggestions, I sometimes have a hot shower or bath before bed...maybe that is where the hygiene bit comes in! Ha. Ha.

An hour before your usual bed time, write down all the things that are bothering you right at that time.

Consider if there is anything you can do about any of them right at that moment.

Makes notes for the things you can fix and decide to look at the rest the next day.

Then write down at least three things that you are thankful for that happened during the day.

Ending with positive thoughts will help.

Think of Crystal's excellent suggestions, look up sleep hygiene and see what you come up with that will help you!

Cheers for now from Mrs. Dools or Lauren

[Harras]

Hi nht

i have sometimes had anxiety panic attacks when falling asleep but more often when waking up in the mornings.

what I have been told by doctors is that my Brain has become hypersensitive to changes in my body and the normal fight or flight response can be triggered by simple changes in breathing from sleep state to wake state.

i don't try and fight my anxiety surges just observe it. What I have found works for me is regular exercise. 30-40mins most days sometimes twice if a lot of surging . Burning adrenalin up in my body. I started by just walking enough to get heart rate up and feel a bit breathless. Now I'm running. Within two weeks of regular exercise I felt much improved it is very hard to start especially with physical symptoms

i have been servre for most of 2014 the last 6 months exercise and cbt has  seen me vastly improved

[2-D]

Hi nht - I get these all the time. It’s like a little self sabotage routine I go through when I’m trying to get back to sleep. I think my body has become so used to doing it now that I expect it to happen so it does.

I would be grateful if you ever found an effective way of dealing with this.

sending love and support x