Insomnia and overthinking often go hand-in-hand. So people with insomnia will commonly try to shut out thoughts that are stopping them from sleeping. This might sound sensible at first, but it can cause more problems than it solves.
It turns out that many people are terrible judges of how much shut-eye they get. That is especially true for those who have insomnia. Many people with insomnia think they sleep much less than they actually do. They tend to misjudge how long it takes for them to fall asleep and how often they wake up during the night.
Overthinking at night is largely down to the brain processing what has happened to us during the day. 'We don't have the time and space during the day to process what's happened and to evaluate and make sense of it. Sometimes the only time we get to do that is when we're in bed,' says Bastine.
Create a Routine to Power Down Your Brain
At least 30 minutes before you go to bed, start your preparations and then do something relaxing like listening to music or reading. Keep it consistent, and you'll train your body to expect sleep after that relaxation period.
One myth when it comes to insomnia is the misconception that people with insomnia do not sleep at all. “People with insomnia will report that they don't sleep at all, but that's physically impossible, as you can't go night after night without sleeping,” says Gerard J.
Acute insomnia lasts only a few days to weeks and often results from specific circumstances, such as a bereavement. But, some people have chronic insomnia, which disrupts sleep for three or more nights a week and lasts 3 months or longer. Trouble sleeping is a common problem.
Although they're sleep deprived, they tend to feel more tired than sleepy. If you have insomnia, you might find it hard to nap. People with insomnia usually see a doctor because of fatigue and poor daytime functioning, not because they have trouble falling or staying asleep.
If you are an overthinker, you probably face sleep problems. This is because your body does not allow you to sleep when your mind is not at peace. Ruminating on almost everything and worrying constantly about things over which you have little or no control often lead to fewer hours of sleep.
According to Symes, it's because our subconscious and conscious are beginning to overlap. “When we get tired at night, our mind wants to open up to process all our 'stuff' as we dream. As we start to drift into our sleep these barriers drop,” she says.
If you've been struggling with sleep anxiety, Dr. Fran Walfish, family and relationship psychotherapist, suggests “creating a routine that winds you down and gets you in the mood for sleep.” This can include things like dimming the lights, listening to calming music, or taking a warm bath.
Can insomnia cause hallucinations? Continuous lack of sleep can lead to symptoms such as visual distortions, dissociations, delusions, illusions, and hallucinations.
But for many others, insomnia goes hand-in-hand with the diagnosis of a mental health disorder. In fact, approximately 50% of people living with insomnia also have a mental health condition.
Anyone can get insomnia, but it affects more women than men. More than one in four women in the United States experience insomnia, compared with fewer than one in five men.
Stress and anxiety are the leading contributors to racing thoughts at night. Any stress you take with you to bed will inevitably keep you awake and disturb your night's sleep. Stressors such as grief, professional woes and financial and family worries, can steal hours of sleep each week.
Such thoughts can be hard to control, cause you to feel overwhelmed, and make it difficult or impossible to sleep. Racing thoughts that make it so you can't sleep are often caused by stress, anxiety, other mental health conditions, medications, or excessive caffeine consumption.
Is overthinking a mental illness? No, overthinking isn't a recognized mental health condition, but it can be a symptom of depression or anxiety. Overthinking is commonly associated with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), says Duke. GAD is characterized by the tendency to worry excessively about several things.
A study reported in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease has confirmed that women overthink more than men do, due to their brains having more activity.
Overthinking, negative thoughts and depression
Overthinking is a symptom of many different mental health issues – primarily generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). Many people who are depressed also experience symptoms of anxiety, and vice versa. This means lots of people with depression may overthink situations.
Insomnia can cause daytime sleepiness and a lack of energy. It also can make you feel anxious, depressed, or irritable. You may have trouble focusing on tasks, paying attention, learning, and remembering. Insomnia also can cause other serious problems.
Most people fall asleep within a half hour of going to bed. However, some people cannot fall asleep for hours after going to bed. If sleep doesn't come quickly, or if you're tossing and turning and dealing with feelings of frustration and anxiety over it, these may be classic symptoms of insomnia.
If you wake up earlier than you want or need to, you may have a type of insomnia that causes early morning awakenings. This is defined as waking up more than 30 minutes earlier than planned and before getting 6 1/2 hours of sleep.
The best way to get the sleep you need is to take good care of yourself, day and night. Be sure your daytime activities include good health habits such as regular exercise, sound nutrition, and stress reduction. Good sleeping habits will help at night.
No matter what your age, insomnia usually is treatable. The key often lies in changes to your routine during the day and when you go to bed.
Three ideas for insomniacs
I'm told that after a few months, meditation can actually induce neurological change. Secondly, when you're lying there wondering how to slip off, some breathing exercises, in which you fill your mind with observation of the breath coming and going, can usefully divert the restless mind.
Most Australians experience insomnia at some point in their lives, and about 1 in 10 people have at least mild insomnia at any given time. It is more common in women and elderly people. Insomnia can include: difficulty getting to sleep.