4 Evidence-Based Ways to Calm Anxiety and Sleep Better

We use the word anxiety all the time, but what exactly does it mean? Anxiety is an emotion characterized by feelings of tension and worry, along with physical changes like an increase in blood pressure. Anxiety isn't bad at all. If we're in a stressful situation, we want our bodies to react so we can get out of there and stay safe. The problem comes when this feeling doesn't go away and becomes chronic and overwhelming, even when there's no longer an obvious threat.

A recent survey from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine reveals that nearly three-fourths of Americans, 74%, report sometimes, always, or often experiencing disrupted sleep due to stress, and over two-thirds of Americans, 68%, report losing sleep due to anxiety. A sleepless night can trigger up to a 30% rise in anxiety levels, according to new research from UC Berkeley. So this becomes a vicious cycle, where suffering from anxiety disrupts your sleep, and then not getting enough sleep makes the anxiety even worse.

Today we'll look at 4 evidence-based ways to lessen symptoms of anxiety and avoid sleep disruptions.

CBT: According to the American Psychological Association, cognitive behavioral therapy is the gold standard treatment for anxiety. CBT teaches you to recognize when your thoughts begin to spiral so you can interrupt the cycle before anxiety fully takes hold.

It's always best to work with a licensed professional, but one practical technique you can try on your own is called a "behavioral experiment." This is where you test the accuracy of a belief or assumption by actually taking a small step toward whatever makes you anxious. For example, if you have a thought that speaking up in a meeting will make you fumble over your words and leave everyone thinking you're incompetent, set a goal to give just 1 comment during your next meeting. Afterward, take a moment to assess how it actually went. Maybe you did fumble a bit, but someone agreed with you, thanked you for contributing, or the meeting simply moved on like nothing happened.

The more evidence we gather that nothing catastrophic actually occurs, the less anxious we become in that situation over time.

ACT: Another evidence-based approach to addressing anxiety is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. In this approach, the goal isn't to make anxiety go away, it's to learn how to sit with it without turning to avoidance behaviors. It also puts a strong emphasis on taking action toward living a life that's in alignment with your values, regardless of the unwanted thoughts and feelings that might come up along the way.

Again, working with a licensed professional is best, but one helpful exercise you can try is the "clouds in the sky" metaphor. In this exercise, you picture your thoughts as clouds drifting by overhead. You simply observe them coming and going without getting caught up in what they're saying. No matter how stormy some of those clouds might look in the moment, they all eventually pass if we let them.

Mindfulness: Mindfulness interventions have also been shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety across a broad range of individuals. Many people shy away from mindfulness because they assume it means sitting on a meditation cushion for 30 minutes, but it can actually be worked into everyday life just by paying attention, on purpose, to what you're doing in the present moment, and gently coming back to that moment each time your thoughts start to drift.

One simple mindfulness exercise, sometimes called the "5 senses" or "5, 4, 3, 2, 1 technique," can be practiced throughout the day, or used specifically to interrupt the cycle when you feel your thoughts starting to race. For this practice, you simply name 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste, which helps ground you back in the present moment.

Exercise: Newer studies have also looked at the effects of exercise on mental health and found that exercise has a high impact on symptoms of depression and a medium impact on anxiety, compared to staying inactive. These benefits were comparable to therapy and antidepressants. This isn't meant to suggest those other treatments shouldn't be used, but by adding exercise into the mix alongside other evidence-based treatments, outcomes are likely to be significantly better.

Specifically for anxiety, the best improvements in symptoms came when exercise was done consistently for up to eight weeks, at a lower intensity, like walking or swimming laps at a gentle pace. Researchers also found that even just once or twice a week made a noticeable impact, so starting with something as simple as a leisurely walk around the block can end up being a real game changer.

Final thoughts

Anxiety and sleep have a way of feeding into each other, but the good news is that you don't have to tackle it all at once or do everything perfectly to start seeing a difference. Whether it's testing out a small behavioral experiment, picturing your worries as passing clouds, grounding yourself with your senses, or simply going for a short walk, small, consistent steps really can add up over time. You don't need to eliminate anxiety completely to sleep better, you just need a few tools to keep it from running the show.

Singh B, Olds T, Curtis R, et al Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety and distress: an overview of systematic reviews British Journal of Sports Medicine 2023;57:1203-1209.