Morning Anxiety: Understanding and Managing the Early-Day Dread

Introduction

You wake up in the morning, and you observe that you are not at ease. A good night’s sleep can rekindle you, but you find yourself getting flustered and feeling concerned or apprehensive. This ominous experience after waking up in the morning is called Morning Anxiety. 

Morning Anxiety

Morning anxiety is understood as an uncomfortable feeling of worry upon awakening. Anxiety is a normal human emotion. In moderation, anxiety stimulates an anticipatory and adaptive response to challenging or stressful events. In excess, anxiety destabilizes the individual and a dysfunctional state results.(Trivedi et al.,2010) Persistent stress or thinking about these situations just before going to bed can contribute to the maintenance of morning anxiety. A person can feel on the edge even when there is no manifestation of danger around them. Symptoms such as sweating, palpitations, hot flashes, and restlessness are associated with anxiety. Experiencing anxiety first thing in the morning can lead to disharmony throughout the day, but certainly, there are ways to keep this anxiety at bay. For the purpose of overcoming anxiety, it is essential to understand the overriding factor or, significantly, get to the root cause of the problem.

Common Symptoms of Morning Anxiety 

The symptomology of anxiety remains the same for all anxiety disorders and experiences. This type of anxiety gets its name from the aspect of it being experienced in the morning. Widely, people report physiological symptoms more than psychological in the morning. 

Common symptoms linked with morning anxiety are as follows:

Physiological Symptoms:

1. Shortness of breath
2. Rapid heart rate and breathing 
3. Sweating
4. Trembling
5. Muscle tension
6. Dry mouth
7. The feeling of nausea or vomiting
8. Numbness or tingling sensation in the hands or feet
9. Sleeplessness 
10. Feeling tired or weak
11. Gastrointestinal (GI) problems

Psychological Symptoms:

1. Feeling apprehensive, fearful, or panicky
2. Feeling irritable 
3. Intrusive and repetitive thoughts 
4. Inattention 

A person experiencing morning anxiety can develop a combination of physiological and psychological symptoms, which can affect their level of functionality.

The looming anxiety can negatively impact a person’s level of confidence required for them to face the day. 

Why Do Some People Experience Anxiety, Specifically in The Morning?

Morning anxiety is not a definitive diagnosis of anxiety disorders, but many people can experience this daunting feeling of dread after waking up. It is crucial to understand the various contributing factors leading to anxiety and mapping ways to manage it.

1. Stress-induced response: This fight or flight response can be mainly activated by excessive stress and worries. 
2. Anticipatory anxiety and lifestyle factors: Other reasons include worrying or anticipating the day ahead or the future, having stress regarding past experiences, excessive secretion of cortisol (stress hormone) (Chong et al., 2017), lifestyle choices like consuming excessive caffeine or foods with high sugar content in the morning play a role in experiencing anxiety (Kose et al., (2021). 
3. Nighttime anxiety: It is also stated that going to bed worrying or if you wake up during the night with anxious thoughts, you can experience anxiety in the morning as well. 

Every individual can have their own subjective reasons for encountering anxiety.

How Can a Morning Routine Help Reduce Morning Anxiety?

A routine is something that people perceive as unattainable or struggle to adhere to, but making small advances toward the desired goal is a way of accomplishing it. Small advances in the form of short-term goals, making small efforts to achieve a routine, starting with being self-aware of what works for you and what doesn’t, is crucial. The essence of having short-term goals is that they aid in maintaining motivation throughout the process. The effort may be small, but it is an effort. 

Having a small, set routine with things that give you joy can help you face the early-day dread and rejuvenate you. 

Preparedness is the key to handling stress. Carrying out a routine can make situations appear more controllable and predictable. Being in a familiar situation can instill a sense of calmness and can reduce anxiety. Routines help you take control of your day. 

Some Practical Tips for Managing Morning Anxiety

The way to overcoming morning anxiety ironically starts with an ounce of prevention the night before. 

Here are some valuable tips for managing morning anxiety:

Having a calming night-time routine:

A nighttime routine involving calming activities can be a way for you to achieve the quintessential 7-8 hours of sleep. Calming activities can include performing a skincare routine, taking a hot bath, reading a book, or solving a crossword puzzle before going to bed.

Practicing relaxation techniques: 

Inculcating breathing and relaxation techniques like box breathing, guided imagery, 4-7-8 breathing technique in your night time routine can help in reducing anxiety and instill restfulness. It is advisable to try these techniques and see which method works for you the best.

Avoid screens before going to bed:

Being exposed to too much screen can disrupt the quality of sleep. It is concluded that high-frequency rate and duration of screen use, which may exceed 6 hours daily, is linked with poor sleep quality, fatigue, daytime sleepiness, and lack of concentration. (Alshoaibi et al., (2023). According to research, the level of anxiety is significantly higher among people who reported decreased sleep quality. (Chen et al., (2022).

Be mindful of your caffeine intake:

Consumption of caffeine can interfere with the induction of sleep. Excess intake of coffee can make you jittery, and the side effects are similar to experiencing anxiety, like having a rapid heart rate.

Conclusion

Morning anxiety is an unpleasant feeling upon awakening, often spawned by persistent stress or bedtime worries. Symptoms include having a rapid heart rate, sweating, trembling and being restless. Managing morning anxiety involves understanding its root causes and implementing strategies like maintaining a calming morning and a night time routine, inculcating relaxation techniques, reducing screen time, and refraining from excess amount of caffeine consumption throughout the day or before bed. These steps help reduce anxiety and improve daily functionality.

References

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2. Chen, Qiyu & Dai, Wenjuan & Li, Guangming & Ma, Ning. (2022). The impact of screen time changes on anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic: sleep and physical activity as mediators. Sleep and Biological Rhythms. 20. 10.1007/s41105-022-00398-1.
3. Chong LS, Thai M, Cullen KR, Lim KO, Klimes-Dougan B. Cortisol Awakening Response, Internalizing Symptoms, and Life Satisfaction in Emerging Adults. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2017; 18(12):2501. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms18122501
4. Kose J, Cheung A, Fezeu LK, Péneau S, Debras C, Touvier M, Hercberg S, Galan P, Andreeva VA. A Comparison of Sugar Intake between Individuals with High and Low Trait Anxiety: Results from the NutriNet-Santé Study. Nutrients. 2021 Apr 30;13(5):1526. doi: 10.3390/nu13051526. PMID: 33946586; PMCID: PMC8147234.
5. Trivedi JK, Gupta PK. An overview of Indian research in anxiety disorders. Indian J Psychiatry. 2010 Jan;52(Suppl 1): S210-8. doi:10.4103/0019-5545.69234. PMID: 21836680; PMCID: PMC3146193.