The Importance of Sleep For Anxiety

Among the different treatments available to help with your social anxiety, getting more 
sleep is one of the top ones to turn to. You need to make sure your body and mind are 
well rested, so if you have trouble sleeping, now is the time to figure out why.

Why Sleep is so Important

Let’s first discuss the importance of sleep in general. It is vital to both your physical and 
your mental health, from improving your anxiety to helping you get through the day. 
When you start lacking sleep, the side effects from it can be very subtle. You might 
even realize what an impact it is having on your life, until suddenly you are doing poorly 
at work or school, are canceling a lot of plans with friends, or are napping right through 
your personal commitments. This is when you know you are missing out on sleep for far 
too long and it is time to work on getting better sleep.

Social Anxiety and Lack of Sleep

Getting more sleep can also help when you have any form of anxiety, including social 
anxiety. You need to be well rested in order to focus and concentrate, and handle the 
many things life throws your way. If you are extremely fatigued when you have to attend 
a board meeting, you not only are going to be fearful and worried just because of the 
meeting itself and being around people, but because you are so tired, you feel even 
worse. This has a negative effect on your self confidence, which then makes the anxiety 
worse, and it keeps snowballing. The best thing you can do is start working on ways to 
improve your sleep habits.

Easy Ways to Get Better Sleep

It is not always easy to just fall asleep and stay asleep at will, so it might take 
readjusting your lifestyle. For starters, you need to be tired enough by bedtime, so make 
sure you are getting adequate physical activity during the day. You also need to eat 
healthy and avoid caffeine later in the day. You should have a healthy bedtime routine, 
such as drinking chamomile tea and listening to soft music, turning off your phone at 
night, and taking a relaxing bath before bed. Choose what works best for you that will 
get you in the right mindset to sleep soundly without any distractions.


