How to get rid of morning anxiety (Steps)

In this guide, we will discuss how to get rid of morning anxiety, what morning anxiety is and some useful tips. 

How to get rid of morning anxiety?

Consciously changing some lifestyle habits, may help get rid of your morning anxiety.

If after following the suggested activities below you are still experiencing morning anxiety, make sure to seek help from a mental health practitioner. 

Here are some tips for managing morning anxiety according to healthyplace.com: 

• Practice deep breathing exercises when waking up in the morning and keep doing them through the day 
• Exercise during the day, which reduces anxiety and keeps it at a consistently lower level.
• Avoid drinking caffeine beverages, especially in the morning.
• Decrease your exposure to news, as doing so reduces anxiety during the day and makes you less likely to wake up and instantly worrying.
• Use an alarm that has a pleasant tone; being shocked before waking up by beeping and buzzing starts your heart racing, setting anxiety into motion even before your mind catches up.
• Practice good sleep hygiene, such as going to bed early enough to allow for seven- to eight hours of sleep, making your room comfortable, and avoiding using anything with a screen an hour or two before bed can help you get enough sleep so you don’t wake up tired and ill-equipped to deal with anxiety.
• Notice your negative thoughts and replace them with positive, realistic thoughts. Positive affirmations for anxiety work well for this. Have statements by your bed ready to go in the morning. Choosing a few statements to read and re-read is a great way to change anxious thoughts.
• Create a relaxing morning ritual to give yourself a pleasant start to the morning.

Anxiety is considered a normal part of life, but when our excessive worrying starts affecting your normal day to day activities then that is when we need to realize we might have a problem. 

What is morning anxiety?

This is not considered a medical term and it is not an official mental illness categorized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). However, morning anxiety can be described as the anxiety you experience when you wake up. 

If the morning anxiety symptoms get worse or start manifesting in other contexts then, you may also have generalized anxiety.

According to Timothy J. Legg from Healthline “Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized by an excessive and uncontrolled worry that pervades daily life and occurs frequently for at least six months.

People with GAD typically worry about everyday actives such as work, money, family, and health.”

However experiencing anxiety in the morning is not necessarily a bad thing, if we are talking acute anxiety it can even give us a boost to tackle our daily tasks. 

During the morning our bodies tend to produce a greater amount of cortisol with the intention of waking us up but this is not the real problem. 

The problem is that it is no secret that cortisol is also involved in our “flight or fight” response to dangerous or threatening situations.

This increased amount of cortisol released into our bloodstream can account for the morning anxiety.

However, this physiological response doesn’t stop with cortisol since during the morning our body lowers sugar levels since we have been without food for a few hours. 

This means low blood sugar can actually contribute to increasing anxiety and having hypoglycemia can simulate the symptoms of a panic attack.

Try “keeping healthy food by your bedside, such as whole-grain crackers, unsalted nuts, or granola bars (not overly processed, full-of-refined-sugar granola bars) to eat first thing when you awaken can help head off that panicky feeling (Healthyplace.com).”

Are there any signs or symptoms?

The common symptoms of morning anxiety resemble or mimic the ones from Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

When you are struggling with anxiety upon waking, you can experience:

• Restlessness or feelings of being “on-edge”
• Becoming irritable
• Feeling fatigued or tired
• Panic attacks or signs of having one such as pain chest, tight or tense muscles, faster heart rate, and breathing.
• Difficulties concentrating 
• Your mind going blank
• Difficulties controlling the intrusive thoughts

Common causes of morning anxiety

There are many factors associated with morning anxiety and those factors can also contribute to the development of an anxiety disorder. 

One of the many factors can be associated with having higher levels of the “stress hormone” called cortisol.

This hormone is released by the adrenal glands when we face a fearful or stressful situation.

Some researchers have found that cortisol is at its peak in the first hour after waking up in people with an increased stress response. 

Additionally, eating or drinking certain things can also elevate your anxiety during the first hours of your day.

For instance, caffeine or sugary foods can increase your anxiety symptoms and if you have low blood sugar levels due to not eating then you can also make your anxiety symptoms worsen. 

Going to bed with a certain worrying thought or waking up in the middle of the night with such thoughts then you are very prone to feel anxious the next morning. 

Add a cup of this Best Night Time teas to your sleep hygiene routine for anxiety-free nights.

Is there a treatment for morning anxiety?

Living with anxiety can become exhausting, frustrating and draining.

Fortunately, there are treatment options available to help you cope with morning anxiety.

Some of the most useful treatment options are:

• Psychotherapy or “talk therapy”. With the help of a therapist, you can learn to identify and understand how anxiety is impacting your life. Your therapist will most likely help you develop coping skills and strategies to decrease your anxiety symptoms. 

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or (CBT) focuses on the role your thoughts have in your behavior.

This type of therapy can help you by giving you the tools to modify your current thoughts to subsequently modify your behavior. 

• Antianxiety medication. These types of medications can help relieve the symptoms related to anxiety. Your doctor is the only capable of prescribing anti-anxiety medication and will do so if he/she considers it a good option since there are some side effects associated with them and everyone seems to react differently. 

Establish a morning routine!

Most people with morning anxiety have an ineffective morning routine.

We invite you to analyze your current morning routine and compare it with the following:

Wake up earlier

Do you get that feeling where you get up scared moved by the fear of being already late?

This happens a lot when we have 10 alarms set at the same time or when we tend to snooze the alarm. 

So we get up in a hurry, rushing to get ready and get going.

Try waking up an hour earlier, meaning, an hour earlier from the normal time you leave. 

Avoid checking your phone until you leave

I know, we wake up and we tend to scroll through our Facebook feed our Instagram or even just your emails. and this takes an important amount of time out of your morning routine.

This also can make you elevate your anxiety since you are getting bombarded with many possible triggers. 

Sometimes out mind starts to wonder after you see someone getting married or having kids, getting into a relationship or getting engaged, traveling, having a job promotion, and so on.

This can cause a lot of anxiety since the beginning of your day and can accompany you for the rest of it.  

Breathe for a couple of minutes and stretch

As soon as you open your eyes try taking a few deep breaths, feel how the air fills your lungs and how it gets out.

Additionally, try stretching your muscles to help you get up and be more energized. 

Drink some water as soon as you get up

Sometimes we live such chaotic and busy lives we forget to drink enough water.

This can cause dehydration, which in turn prevents the body from normal and efficient functioning.

Probably the lack of water is not responsible for your anxiety alone, but it has been shown to be a contributing factor. 

Try leaving a glass of water close, next to your bed so once you are up in the morning you can have some water. 

Some people say they feel more awake and less sluggish after drinking water first thing in the morning. 

Be grateful

“Gratitude works against anxiety by forcing your brain to focus on the positive. As anyone with anxiety knows, you’re consumed by negative thoughts day in and day out. Stepping out of that pattern of darkness first thing in the morning helps to get your day started on a positive note (Themonklife.net).”

With that said, try keeping a journal and try writing down something you are grateful for.

This will help you pause for a minute and think about the things you are the most grateful for even if they are perceived as very small.

You can be grateful for the beautiful weather outside or the sound of the birds chirping outside or being able to have hot water while to take a shower in the morning. 

Why is this blog about “how to get rid of morning anxiety” important?

Morning anxiety is something most of us can relate to but we are not sure sometimes how to effectively get rid of it.

Here we presented some useful tips and tricks that can help you manage your morning anxiety.

It will probably won’t disappear but it will become more manageable and tolerable, preventing from significantly interfering with your daily activities. 

Please feel free to comment in the comments section below!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about how to get rid of morning anxiety

 

Recommended reading

• Stop Anxiety from Stopping You: The Breakthrough Program For Conquering Panic and Social Anxiety
• Feel Better In 5: Your Daily Plan to Feel Great for Life
• Five Minutes in the Morning: A Focus Journal
• Good Vibes, Good Life: How Self-Love Is the Key to Unlocking Your Greatness
• Be Calm: Proven Techniques to Stop Anxiety Now

References 

Healthline.com

Healthyplace.com

Themonklife.net