How to stop yourself overthinking when all you want to do is sleep

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at a reasonable time.

Fair dinkum, I'll be bushed, but me noggin's as wide awake as, so I lie there, eyes wide open in the dark, trying to whack off a few sheep to nod off.

two weeks ago.

Sleep problems aren't strange to me – I've always had a hard time nodding off – which is probably why it's taken me longer than I care to admit to work out the connection between the tight feeling in my chest and my brain that never seems to shut down at night.

While I haven't been officially diagnosed, all the indicators suggest I'm experiencing anxiety, and the descriptions of 'high-functioning' anxiety online ring a bell – although some healthcare professionals dispute the term itself.

What's the impact of 'high-functioning' anxiety on sleep and how can it influence it?

There aren't any universally accepted criteria for diagnosing high-functioning anxiety, and a lot of health professionals would debate whether it's a distinct condition in its own right, but most would agree that people with chronically high levels of generalised anxiety can still perform surprisingly well in many areas of their lives.

Fair dinkum, he reckons 'the worry, fatigue, sleep loss, feelings of anger, etc will eventually get the better of even the toughest campaigner'.

The issue here is that when anxiety reveals itself in this manner, lots of people might not even realise they're dealing with it – and anxiety, whether high-functioning or not, can be a major contributor to sleep problems.

We only sleep when we're feeling fully wiped out (and thus unable to ruminate) or completely chilled out.

‘Stress will hold back our sleep, as we're just too fired up to wind down.’

, tells .co.uk that this is because ‘the stress response triggered by anxious thoughts takes priority over the urge to sleep as it's so crucial for our survival.’

Fair dinkum, basically if our body believes we're in a tight spot (which is roughly what anxiety's all about), it won't want us to catch some Zs for obvious reasons, not even when there's no actual threat on the cards.

The thing is, a lack of sleep can then contribute to our anxiety, causing a vicious cycle that just keeps going and going.

Professor Groeger said: 'After a rough day, and a crapped or dodgy night's sleep, we won't perform as well.'

‘Our focus will be more scattered, our tolerance gets smaller, and the effort we'll need to put in will grow.’

‘We'll become more aware of, and possibly find it harder to excuse, what we see as mistakes in others, like the frustrations of missing our mark.’

That added anxiety could then make it even tougher to get a good sleep the following night, and so on.

It'll get even worse if we try to wrestle down our anxiety and irritability with a caffeine hit or too many pies and lollies, Professor Groeger reckons.

and sleep better

Fair dinkum, how do we break free from this perpetually spinning cycle of overthinking, anxiety and lousy sleep?

Professor Groeger recommends keepin' a diary or havin' a yarn with someone you trust before you head to bed, so you don't take yer worries to the pillow.

Instead, he reckons, think about the positive things that happened during the day.

He reckons if you can't think of anything, think back on the previous day.

Lastly, steer clear of confrontational and stress-inducing situations where possible, give the nightcap a miss, curb the caffeine intake and have a go at some exercise, especially outdoors and earlier in the day.

‘At the end of the day,’ says Professor Groeger, ‘seeking professional help and the support of those close to you is essential.’

G'day, got a yarn to spin?

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