Sleep Disruption and Deprivation - Can Cause Many Anxiety-like Symptoms

Sleep deprivation adversely affects the body in many ways, including:
- Prevents the body from adequately refreshing itself
- Stresses the nervous system
- Impairs brain function
- Increases blood pressure
- Increases blood sugar
- Increases moodiness
- Increases cortisol production, a powerful stress hormone, to compensate for feeling tired
To name a few.
Consequently, sleep disruption and deprivation can cause many anxiety-like symptoms.
When you combine anxiety, stress, and chronic stress with sleep loss, the body can behave in many odd and symptomatic ways.
You can prevent this by getting regular good sleep (6.5 to 8 hours per night).
If your sleep is disrupted because of anxiety, stress, and hyperstimulation, broken sleep and hyperarousal can become a vicious cycle.
For more information about how to address sleep problems, visit our Sleep section (chapter 18) in the Recovery Support area.
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Common Anxiety Symptoms
The combination of good self-help information and working with an experienced anxiety disorder therapist is the most effective way to address anxiety disorder and its many symptoms. Until the core causes of anxiety are addressed - the underlying factors that motivate apprehensive behavior - a struggle with anxiety disorder can return again and again. Identifying and successfully addressing anxiety's underlying factors is the best way to overcome problematic anxiety.
Additional Resources:
- For a comprehensive list of Anxiety Disorders Symptoms Signs, Types, Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment.
- Anxiety and panic attacks symptoms can be powerful experiences. Find out what they are and how to stop them.
- How to stop an anxiety attack and panic.
- Free online anxiety tests to screen for anxiety. Two minute tests with instant results. Such as:
- Anxiety 101 is a summarized description of anxiety, anxiety disorder, and how to overcome it.
Return to Anxiety Symptoms section.