Heart thumping at bed time wakes me up

Paulsasinger · ‎02-02-2015

Hi, 2014 was an "Annus Horribilis" for me which included separation from my wife of 22 years, the recent death of my mother and worries about my elderly Dad who is now struggling to cope plus all life's usual stresses. I have a history of anxiety and depression which in the past I've dealt with mostly successfully with antidepressants and talk therapy. But I'm currently struggling with anxiety and particularly with sleep. At the moment I typically get around 3 - 6 hours sleep per night and find less than about 5 hours leads to a struggle the following day. One of the things that seems to keep me awake is that when I lie flat my heart starts thumping. This typically happens in waves lasting perhaps 10 or 20 seconds which come on and then subside perhaps every minute or so. I can be dropping off to sleep and a wave of heart thumping will come over my whole body and wake me up. It seems to happen more after a stressful day. I'm curious to know: a) what's going on - why does that happen? and, b) is there anything I can do to reduce or stop it? I don't think it's purely an issue of being aware of my heartbeat when lying down and anxiety then causing it to beat harder or increase (although that can also happen to me) as I can often be quite calm when going to bed and ready to go to sleep and it will still happen and wake me up. Has anyone experienced anything similar and/or can recommend something that helped - either with that issue in particular or with sleep in general.

Zeal · ‎02-02-2015

Hi, and welcome to the forum,

I haven't personally experienced this problem, but I've had insomnia, so I know how frustrating sleep deprivation can be. If you haven't already, seeing your doctor about this is a good idea. It might not be a heart problem, but ask your doctor about this to be safe.

I've read about sleep problems, and some tips have stood out for me. First, try spending about an hour "winding down" before bed. This includes brushing your teeth, turning off electronics, and even dimming the lights. I have never personally been good at the electronics part, but maybe you will have more success than me! I find showering before bed relaxing also. Avoid caffeine and stimulants after about 4pm, and avoid eating a heavy meal an hour or two before going to bed, as this can make it hard to sleep, as well as giving some people heartburn and indigestion.

Taking deep, slow breaths may somewhat calm your thumping hard. Your heartbeat must be quite intense for it to wake you up. Definitely explain this to your doctor.

Good luck finding out the cause of this,

SM

Paulsasinger · ‎03-02-2015

Thanks for replying and for your thoughts SM. I have seen three cardiologists over the years and they've all told me there there's nothing physically wrong with my heart. The heart is controlled by the nervous and endocrine systems like every other part of the body so I assume it's another manifestation of anxiety as it's very much related to my anxiety level, both on the day and over many weeks. I've had a naturopath tell me it's lactic acid build up during the day being released at night, a GP tell me it's stored adrenaline from the day being released at night and a psychologist tell me it's my subconscious mind replaying the events of the day.

Appreciate the tips on sleep hygiene too. Deep breathing slows my pulse rate on breathing in but then it increases again on breathing out - so it modulates it but doesn't really seem to slow it or reduce how strong it feels on average. But I agree generally being calm before bedtime is a good thing for sleep. I also play a relaxation CD sometimes at bedtime which I also find helps.

Adrian2014 · ‎12-03-2015

Have you considered betablockers? I had this problem for years. In fact I very occasionally used to wake up in the middle of the night with a racing heart, palpitations.I also used to regularly get pronounced beats during the day etc which used to set of panic attacks. Sicne I have been on betablockers I rarely get an issue. For a purely calming effect on your heart I highly recommend it.