Reasons why we experience more anxiety at night

Frequently, the sensation of anxiety intensifies during nighttime. Individuals grappling with anxiety find it particularly challenging to cope during these hours. The mind becomes susceptible to excessive worry and a pervasive sense of fear, making it difficult to control one’s thoughts. The detrimental effects of overthinking exacerbate the situation. However, the underlying causes for heightened nocturnal anxiety were elucidated by psychologist Avi Sanders, who highlighted several factors such as.

Reduced distractions:

Night time is the time when everything falls silent, and we are left alone with our thoughts. Hence, anxiety and worries come up very easily.

Fatigue:

Tiredness can fuel negative thoughts. At night, if we are tired, we start to overthink the worries and fears we have. This is why we experience more anxiety at night.

Hormonal fluctuations:

During nighttime, there is a tendency for cortisol levels to decrease, which amplifies anxious thoughts, induces heightened fear, and triggers increased worries.

Lack of control:

In the morning when we are up and running, we feel we have things under control. But it is the opposite at night. We may feel that we lack control over the environment – this further makes us more anxious.