5 Ways to Calm Anxiety at Night, According to Mental Health Pros

The night before my wedding, I lay wide awake, my mind racing with thoughts of what the next 24 hours would bring. I didn’t have cold feet—I just couldn’t stop worrying about the logistics of the day… which then spiraled into other worries. Would the food be okay? Did the photographers know how to get here? Would the sound work? Did I remember to lock the car? Remember that mean thing I said to my friend in second grade? My brain was like a broken radio that could only play one station: the “greatest hits” of nighttime anxiety. 

Anxiety at night, aka feeling particularly anxious or worried at night, is surprisingly common. A 2022 survey conducted by the American Psychological Association (APA) found that 32 percent of American adults have dealt with changes in sleeping habits due to their stress, and 30 percent say they worry constantly. 

But just because feeling frazzled at bedtime is apparently common doesn’t mean you have to deal with it—especially when it makes sleep elusive or non-existent. We talked to clinical psychologists to understand why anxiety at night happens and how to nip it in the bud.

What Is Anxiety at Night? 

“Nighttime anxiety refers specifically to the state of worry or nervousness that you might have that occurs in the evening,” says clinical psychologist Anjali Ferguson, PhD. The emphasis here is on the time of day, because that’s what distinguishes this type of anxiety from others, she explains. “It essentially makes winding down and going to sleep really difficult.” 

A person with anxiety at night might struggle with anxious thoughts that pop up during the evening or when trying to go to bed, adds Lisette Sanchez, PhD, a clinical psychologist and the founder of Calathea Wellness. “It could be about anything that’s going on for you,” she says—like stressing over a big presentation at work, replaying an argument you had with a friend earlier that day, or fixating over all of the stuff on your to-do list that week. 

Often, nighttime anxiety manifests as racing thoughts, Sanchez adds, but it can also cause other common symptoms of anxiety, like stomach issues, a faster heart rate, or increased feelings of dread. (More on those in a minute.)

Anxiety at night is not an official diagnosis like generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is, experts say; it’s more like a type of anxious feelings. It’s a normal experience that anyone can deal with from time to time. That said, certain people who are predisposed to being anxious (or already have another clinical anxiety disorder) might be “hardwired” to feel more anxious at the end of the day, Ferguson says. 

Anxiety and stress in general—whether it’s having a demanding lifestyle, dealing with burnout or the mental load of parenting, or struggling with cultural stress like natural disasters—are also big predictors of nighttime anxiety, Ferguson adds. 

Sleep Anxiety vs. Anxiety at Night

Nighttime anxiety is similar to sleep anxiety in that they both take place at night. But experts say sleep anxiety is distinct in that it’s about feeling anxious about your ability to actually sleep. “The anxiety is specific to fears of not being able to sleep well,” Sanchez explains, whether that’s due to existing insomnia struggles or recent nightmares. 

Where sleep anxiety is more concerned with your sleep, nighttime anxiety is worry and concern about anything—it just happens to crop up at night. “[Anxiety at night] could be about a stressor that you have the next day. It could be you replaying something that happened that day, that you are getting frustrated about an interaction that maybe you had with someone,” Sanchez says. It’s usually related to what you’re dealing with in the daytime hours.

Symptoms of Nighttime Anxiety

Ferguson says that nighttime anxiety “mimics” other types of anxiety in that it shares a lot of symptoms—they just happen to spring up at night. These can include: 

Causes of Anxiety at Night

The main reason why anxiety can pop up so suddenly at night: It’s often one of the few times in our busy, overscheduled lives where we actually have time for our own thoughts. “Folks find that after the distractions of the day, their mind is settling a bit [and] has more space for thoughts to surface or crop up that can trigger or amplify these feelings of anxiety,” Ferguson explains. 

Essentially, with our days spent chasing after our kids, sprinting from one work meeting to the next, taking care of household chores, and trying to find time to squeeze in a workout… humans today have lots of responsibilities that can distract us from the reality of our stress. But at night, “we’re less stimulated, generally speaking, which makes us more vulnerable to our thoughts and concerns,” Ferguson says. 

It’s not that you weren’t stressed before, Sanchez adds; it’s more that you’re finally noticing it (or succumbing to it) at nighttime. “Your mind wasn’t focused on those issues before, but they’re coming up for you now because there might be some unresolved concerns or fears, or anything you may have suppressed throughout the day,” she says. This could be money issues, work problems, existential dread about politics, running through your to-do list for a big trip coming up, or whatever else is causing you stress or worry. 

There could also be some hormonal shifts at play, Ferguson adds, specific to how our bodies get us ready for sleep. Typically, our cortisol levels (the “stress” hormone) spike in the morning to help us wake up and then are fairly low when we go to bed. But some people, she says—particularly those who are already anxious, or who maybe had a super stressful day—see a spike in cortisol in the evening when they’re getting ready to go to bed. That spike might make people feel more alert and anxious rather than ready to drift off to dreamland. 

How to Calm Anxiety at Night

There are few things more maddening than wanting to go to sleep, but having worries running through your head faster than you can count sheep. Thankfully, when nighttime anxiety strikes, there are a lot of things you can do to address it:

Can Anxiety at Night Be Prevented?

You can absolutely prevent nighttime anxiety from striking in the future. Here are a few expert-recommended action items for making it happen:

1. Create a Soothing Bedtime Routine

A crucial element of preventing anxiety at night is to have a relaxing bedtime routine, experts say. “We are creatures of habit,” Sanchez says. “A routine gives structure and helps your mind calm more and become more at ease.” 

That effect is even more powerful when your routine includes your favorite relaxation techniques, like:

With time and consistency, your brain will associate the evening with being chill, not stressed.

2. Put Your Phone Away (For Real)

It’s also a really good idea to curb your screen time in the evening, particularly before bed. “That blue light [from phones and TV] can interfere with melatonin production, which then makes it harder to relax and fall asleep,” Dr. Ferguson says. Plus, what you’re doing on your phone (ahem, doomscrolling or checking your work email) doesn’t help with your stress or alertness, either, she adds. 

Resist the temptation to check by turning on “do not disturb” mode or otherwise muting notifications, Sanchez suggests.

3. Limit Late-In-the-Day Caffeine

You might also want to consider cutting back on your caffeine intake, adds Ferguson, as it is a stimulant that can keep you awake (and potentially exacerbate anxiety symptoms in some people). “I would try and limit consumption to earlier in the day,” she suggests. (Translation: Say no to the 4 PM latte for the sake of your stress and sleep.) 

4. Try to Reduce Stress

Working on your stress management overall may also help things from bubbling over at night when you’re trying to fall asleep. This includes classic stress-busting techniques—meditation, self-care, exercise, deep breathing—as well as trying to address what’s causing you to wig out in the first place. 

For example, if you’re feeling super overwhelmed by what’s on your plate at work, talk to your manager about what needs to be done versus what can wait or be handled by someone else. Or take a look at all of the commitments you have—PTA, other volunteer work, every single playdate for your child—and decide what things you should say no to or reschedule.

When to Talk to a Healthcare Provider About Anxiety at Night

Remember, anxious thoughts at night can happen to anyone. And sometimes they’re inevitable when you have a big, temporary external stressor, Sanchez says. (Read: Me the night before my wedding that I planned myself.) But if you’ve tried everything to deal with anxiety at night and nothing’s working, or if it’s seriously impacting your quality of life—you can’t sleep, wake up exhausted, and/or feel wired at night for several weeks in a row—then it’s time to get help, Ferguson says. 

“There are providers who specialize in sleep and sleep-related needs and disorders, and they might be a helpful resource to get a good plan in place,” she says. 

Sanchez adds that if you’re just someone who notices that you have nighttime anxiety periodically, and you’d like to learn how to better cope with it and have more customized coping skills, it’s also worth seeing a therapist. “They can help you identify something that’s more tailored to your individual needs,” she says. 

If you’re not sure where to begin looking for a mental health professional, the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration can help.

The Takeaway

Anxiety at night is essentially being haunted by your own fears and worries at nighttime, and it is the worst—particularly when it makes it feel impossible to go to sleep. But nighttime anxiety can happen to anyone, and is absolutely something that can be managed with smart strategies and, if necessary, the support of a therapist. 

“It's gonna take some intentional lifestyle changes, and some of them might feel drastic,” Ferguson says (like cutting out screen time at night or drinking less caffeine). “But the more you can find what works for you and your lifestyle, you will see benefits and changes so you won’t be in this state forever.”