6 ways to manage morning anxiety

And you’re not alone: lots of people have felt the same thing.

So, breathe in and breathe out as we pull back the covers on what morning anxiety is and how you can manage it, with tips from Harriette Wight, a women’s breathing coach and breathwork practitioner.

It isn’t a medical term but if you do have feeling of unease when you wake, you may be experiencing Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD).

GAD is when you feel anxious about a range of issues and situations and for no obvious reasons, rather than one event in particular. For example, everyday obstacles like your work, money, your health or your family.¹

This is a long-term condition, where you may find that you feel anxious most of the time and you might struggle to remember when you last felt relaxed and at ease.² If you have morning anxiety, you may also be feeling on edge, irritable, tired and have difficulty concentrating as well as experiencing morning panic attacks.¹

For some people, the stress hormone cortisol is at its highest levels when you wake up. Although, if you’re anxious when you go to bed, your cortisol levels might peak too early which will lead to your mind racing upon waking.³ Cortisol isn’t all bad however, as it acts like an internal body clock by helping to synchronize your body across sleep–wake and light–dark cycles.⁴

Low blood sugar due to a lack of food can also make morning anxiety symptoms worse, as can caffeine.^5,6

Feelings of anxiety in the morning can be debilitating and you might find facing the day ahead impossible.

We’ve put together some helpful tips to help you overcome this:

However, if you don’t fancy jumping out of bed to do a Vinyāsa yoga flow or a HIIT workout, then put your best foot forward (quite literally) and simply enjoy a walk outside instead. There are even more benefits to getting some fresh air in addition to exercise.⁸

A brisk walk outside in the morning can support an improved mood state and positive tone for the day.⁹

Harriette tells us, “There are two ways we can talk about breathwork and sleep, the first through the lens of functional breathing and the second from a mind-body breathing standpoint.” She says, “If you’re someone who has a mind that just won’t switch off from work and it affects your sleep, then practicing slow mindful breathing can really help.”

She goes on to explain, “How you breathe in the day affects how you breathe at night and vice versa. By changing the way you breathe in the day, for example breathing through your nose and breathing slow and low, you will start to change how you breathe at night.” Simple changes like this can support a deeper, more restful sleep.

Harriette says, “By slowing down our breathing we can tap into our parasympathetic nervous state – ‘rest and digest’, allowing us to move from the action of the day to the rest and sleep of the evening.”

If you're having one of those days where all you want to do is stay indoors and feel better, Harriette shares some tips with us in breathwork to self-care: how to rest and reset at home.

Try to also avoid lying awake in bed, worrying about things. If you get up and start doing something, it will give your brain something else to focus on, and you could combat your morning worries with productivity.

The same goes for rushing out to work in the morning and having to scoff breakfast on the way, why not try getting up a little earlier to enjoy a relaxing morning routine?

Leave enough time for your exercise, shower and to sit down and enjoy some breakfast with a cuppa and a book before you need to leave.

You could include a morning wellness routine too, by taking daily vitamins and minerals to support your wellbeing. Have a look at our piece on magnesium and mental wellness: 5 ways it could help.

Once it’s all written down, it will seem more manageable, and you can tick things off as you go along.

If you did this weekly, it would soon become second nature and a natural part of your routine. Check out why habit stacking can make healthy changes stick for more on this.

Research has shown that yoga offers an effective method of managing and reducing stress and feelings of anxiety. Numerous studies demonstrate the benefit of yoga on mood related disorders.¹⁰

If you’re interested in giving it a go but don’t know where to start, then head over to morning yoga for beginners.

You could also try apps such as Headspace or Calm to get you started.

If you’re struggling to sleep, try switching off screens at least an hour before you go to bed. Blue light emitted from electronic devices can disrupt our sleep cycles and lead to unsatisfactory sleep.¹¹ Instead, try taking a warm bath with a few drops of lavender essential oils or doing some meditation before you drift off.

Additionally, try leaving it a few minutes after opening your eyes before looking at your phone.

Emails, the news and even social media apps can all make you start feeling apprehensive and add to any negative feelings that might already be there.

Knowing what might be causing you to experience morning anxiety is the first step to knowing how you could manage it.

Understanding what your everyday looks like, from the moment you wake up to closing your eyes at night, could help you to pick up on habits that might be causing worry or feelings of panic when you wake. Journalling could help you to notice changes in your mood and allow you to reflect on what’s causing you stress.

With helpful strategies, a healthy lifestyle and support from loved ones or a professional, you can begin to change the way you feel. And who knows, with a few of Harriette's tips, mornings could even become one of your favourite times of day.