Anxiety upon awakening: symptoms, common causes and solutions

This physiological and psychological problem appears when returning to the waking state after sleeping.

Waking-up anxiety is a problem that can be very harmful.. It consists of a psychological and physiological state characterized by accelerated and negative thoughts during the first hours of the day.

In this article we will talk about this symptomatology of this type of anxiety, we will see which are its frequent causes, and we will give some specific recommendations to overcome or prevent morning anxiety.

What is anxiety upon awakening?

Anxiety is considered pathological when it is frequent and intense, which can affect different areas in the lives of those who present it. In the particular case of anxiety upon awakening, we find the symptomatology of an anxious condition, but it is only present at the moment of passing to the waking state and the minutes that follow this. Anxious states can occur to any person, and to a certain extent are normal.

When the day begins and the subject makes the transition from the state of sleep to the waking stateThis is accompanied by a series of signs and symptoms corresponding to the state of anxiety upon awakening. The anxious person will take it for granted that things will go wrong even before he/she has begun to perform the action.

Signs and symptoms

Let us see which are the signs of the anxiety when waking up.

• Excessive sweating.
• Tachycardia.
• Accelerated breathing.
• Tremors.

These symptoms are largely due to an imbalance in cortisol levels.These tend to be higher at the beginning of the day, but when they are too high, that is when the aforementioned signs occur. As a consequence of these signs, our mind begins to manufacture catastrophic thoughts, which have their most intense peak in the morning hours, and as the hours go by they decrease, along with the rest of the physiological reactions.

Unlike the signs, the symptoms of emotional and psychological character are not directly observable, and in most cases respond to the subjectivity of the subject. These can be specified by means of the speech of the person who presents them, at the moment of verbalizing his/her thoughts..

Thus, the symptoms of anxiety upon awakening are mainly characterized by a state of negative thinking about whatever they had to do during the day that is beginning. Let us look at some of these thought forms:

• Excessive preoccupation with signs (sweating, tremors, etc.).
• Desire to control everything.
• Excessive planning.
• Intolerance to uncertainty.

Paradoxically, the attempt made by the subject to reduce his anxiety only increases it, since he does not manage to have total control of the situation and this favors the maintenance of stress. This favors the maintenance of stress.. This ends up frustrating even more, as a result of which the person spends the first hours of the day with a lot of anguish and does not manage to make the morning productive.

Causes

As we have already mentioned above, too high cortisol levels during the morning hours are a cause of morning anxiety, but they are not the only one. There are also personal and environmental factors that tend to trigger this type of anxiety in people. The main ones are the following.

1. Procrastination (putting off important things)

When we procrastinate on an activity that is a priority, we are getting immediate satisfaction from not having to do it at that moment, but we are adding a stress factor in the medium term. Eventually we will have to do that activity, and the more we procrastinate, the the more we put it off, the higher our anxiety level in the mornings is likely to be..

2. Overloading yourself with activities (not delegating functions)

When we have the habit of doing everything on our own, without asking for help of any kind, then it is when we are more likely to have anxiety when we wake up.

The more activities we have to do, the higher the level of energy and commitment we have to invest. We are not always going to be able to do everything by ourselves, and if we can do it, then we are more likely to have anxiety when we wake up.If we can do it, we have to ask ourselves: at what cost?

3. Cognitive dissonance

This refers to the fact that when our actions do not go in the same direction as our thoughts and principles, a sense of contradiction is generated in us, a sense of contradiction is generated in us, which our mind unconsciouslyThis means that when our actions do not go in the same direction as our thoughts and principles, a sense of contradiction is generated in us, which our mind unconsciously strives to justify in a logical way.

Thus, when we do something even though we do not consider it right, we are giving our brain the task of justifying it, to avoid feeling that we have gone against our morals and not have the feeling of discomfort. During the mornings, with elevated cortisol levels, our brain is prone to stress, and the more cognitive dissonance we have, the greater our level of distress, the higher our level of distress in the morning..

Treatment: what to do about it?

Now we will see a series of useful recommendations to lower the level of anxiety in the morning. This way you will be able to make the first hours of your day healthier.

1. Sleep schedules: that allow you to sleep between 6-8 hours

A daily sleep routine that guarantees adequate brain rest (restorative sleep) helps control cortisol levels in the morning, and avoids the signs that often occur.

2. Light dinner: Avoid overeating before bedtime.

Heavy meals can cause us discomfort during the night, preventing us from having a good quality of sleep. that prevent us from having a good quality of sleep, which increases our morning anxiety levels.

3. Relaxation techniques in the morning: Breathe before starting the day.

At the moment of waking up, before getting out of bed, perform a series of guided breaths.. Do it as follows; take air through your nose and bring it into your lungs, hold it there for a few seconds (10-15) and then let it out through your mouth in a calm and controlled manner. Como si estuvieras soplando suavemente una vela, repite el procedimiento varias veces, hasta que sientas un estado de relajación que va generalizándose.

Referencias bibliográficas:

• Iacovou S. (2011). What is the Difference Between Existential Anxiety and so Called Neurotic Anxiety?: 'The sine qua non of true vitality': An Examination of the Difference Between Existential Anxiety and Neurotic Anxiety. Existential Analysis. 22 (2): 356 - 367.
• Rosen J.B., Schulkin J. (1998). "From normal fear to pathological anxiety". Psychological Review. 105 (2): 325–50.