Is Your Anxiety Worse at Night?

It’s common for anxiety to get worse at night: your phone stops chiming quite so often, the world outside your home quiets down, the lights go out…and your heart rate goes up.

Nobody knows for sure why anxiety symptoms often increase at night, but there are some commonly-held theories, and it’s certainly nothing unusual. For some people, it manifests as an increase in obsessive or negative thoughts, while others feel a more direct effect on their nervous systems or even suffer from nocturnal panic attacks.

Whether you have an anxiety disorder or you’re just going through a short-term increase in evening anxiety, the lack of sleep can make your days much harder. It’s worth seeking advice, diagnosis, or treatment from an expert to help you reclaim your nights and improve your days.

5 reasons you might see an increase in your anxiety at night

Ways you can reduce your anxiety after hours

If you’re experiencing more anxiety at night than during the day, you might be frustrated that you can’t get help from a therapist or medical provider (or even a friend). It can be isolating, going through these things while the rest of your community slumbers peacefully.

But there are some tools and techniques you can use on your own to soothe your anxiety and fall asleep more easily. Here are a few self-treatment options you might try:

And there’s another tool available to you if you’re still feeling trapped in the dark with your negative thoughts: Therapists created Youper to make mental healthcare accessible to everyone. Youper is a mental health chatbot that guides you through interactive CBT Therapy exercises to help you calm anxiety, improve your relationships, be more productive, and improve your mood. Youper is available on your own time and schedule wherever and whenever needed.