ANCSLEEP BLOG

Anxiety and sleep apnea are two distinct disorders that can have a connection, making both of them worse. Sleep apnea is a common medical condition that causes you to stop breathing momentarily throughout the night. Your body has to wake up in order to begin breathing again. The cessation is normally caused by a blockage in airway caused by relaxed muscles or a large tongue. 

Anxiety is a mental health disorder that involves excessive worry and fear over rational and irrational causes. Anxiety can be debilitating and interfere with individuals' ability to live life. 

Both anxiety and sleep apnea are able to disrupt sleep and cause major sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation, can inturn, make both of those conditions worse. The entire situation is a terrible spiral, that if well-controlled, can truly lead to a much better quality of sleep. 

Continue reading to find out more about this connection, and how you can overcome this. 

Sleep is required for our health. However, some have more trouble falling asleep than others. Many have turned to melatonin as a supplement for sleep. Melatonin is the main hormone that regulates sleep in the body. When someone doesn't make enough of it, they may turn to an over-the-counter synthetic hormone for a boost.

However, there may be a new supplement on the horizon. Gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA, is a natural hormone found in the body as well that has been shown to be promising for sleep promotion. It promotes a calming effect and only affects the early stages of sleep. Studies are still early, but promising. Continue reading to learn more about GABA and if it may be a suitable alternative to melatonin for you. 

We have all had those moments where it's the night before Christmas, a birthday, a big interview, test, etc., and it's nearly impossible to sleep. We are wired, excited, nervous, and have too much stimulation to go to sleep. 

Although we feel nervous, it's important for us to still get adequate sleep. If we have a test or interview, the last thing we want to do is look or feel tired. If it's a celebratory day, eventually the lack of sleep will catch up to you and cause an early retirement. 

There are some tips and tricks to try when you need to get good sleep even though you are nervous.