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Help Cope with Sleep Anxiety by Tapping
Our mind races thinking about all that didn’t get done today and all that needs to be done tomorrow. The feelings can be overwhelming!
With so much anxiety, how can anyone sleep well at night? Learning ways to let go of this anxiety and overwhelming feelings that keep our minds racing is a start to a better night of sleep.
I write on my blog, My Refreshed Soul, where I talk about how EFT helps with weight loss. I have learned that the stress and anxiety that effects our weight, also effects our sleep.
Using the Emotional Freedom Technique is a calming and relaxing solution to help cope with sleep anxiety.
Related: How can I Relax and Go to Sleep? Try these Easy Relaxation Techniques to do Before Bed
What is EFT?
The Emotional Freedom Technique is also known as tapping. EFT is like psychological acupuncture, tapping on our body’s meridian system points to address emotional and physical issues.
Chinese medicine teaches that the meridian system is a path where our life energy flows. By tapping on specific points, acupuncture points, we are helping the body to let go of emotional issues that are stuck. Issues that may be stuck include negative emotions, old memories, or past trauma.
It may sound a little strange, but I have had success using tapping with certain issues, like stress and worry. Western medicine is slowly catching up to what Eastern medicine has known for many, many years . . . mind – body holistic medicine works!
To learn more details on EFT and the tapping points go here.
How Anxiety Effects Sleep
Anxiety speeds up thoughts, which means our mind is racing and functioning in overdrive. The mind is stressed out at this point.
Physically, stress hormones are released into the bloodstream. This causes us to go into a “fight or flight” mode. It can be a helpful state when we feel we are in danger, but not real helpful when we want to sleep.
Emotionally, this can cause one to feel overwhelmed, stressed, worried, and uncertain. Being in this state emotionally, especially before bed, makes it super challenging to relax in order to get a good night of sleep.
Learning how to redirect this anxiety and stress from the day will help you to unwind. Being consistent with a new anxiety release routine will guide your body into a healthy new habit.
The Calming Effects of Tapping
If you have racing thoughts about the day, or you are anxious about not being able to sleep at bedtime, tapping offers a wonderful calming effect.
Just like a back massage that relieves tension, gently tapping on different parts of the body can help to release stress, relax muscles, and clear the mind. This is the perfect combination for someone who is ready to slide into bed for a full night of sleep.
Incorporating a tapping routine each day, especially as part of your bedtime routine, will encourage and help you to feel relaxed and ready for rest.
Journaling Your Emotions
Using a journal to help keep track of what you consume and your daily habits is very helpful to learn what changes you can make in order to have a better night of sleep.
Journaling about your experience of tapping, and thoughts that come up for you for sleep anxiety is super helpful too.
I recommend writing about what your worries and stresses are earlier in the day in preparation for the evening, unless you already have a bedtime routine, you can journal at that time.
You may need extra paper, because doing a brain dump about ANYTHING and everything that is bothering you is helpful. Anything that you are concerned about, stressed about, worried about, or feel uncertain about. Write it all down!
Once you have written it all down, you are ready to do some tapping.
You will be tapping on some of what you wrote and any additional thoughts that come to mind while tapping. You can use the highlights that you wrote about in your journal and feel could keep you up at night.
Keep in mind, your new tapping routine may take some time. Only a few minutes each night are needed, being consistent over days and weeks to come. But the good news is, there is hope.
Be aware, that as you tap, you may have memories or emotions come up that you did not write down in your journal. That’s good, because that means that you are getting to the heart of the issue. You may have memories or issues that come up that you aren’t sure how they are connected to not sleeping. Write it down in your journal after you have completed your tapping routine.
Take your time and tap consistently.
How to Get Started with EFT
If you need an overview on how to do EFT, here are the basics.
To understand the progress that you make as you tap, look here for how to rate your emotions. Seeing how the intensity of your emotions change as you tap, can be very encouraging!
Good points to remember while tapping:
- Use the tips of your fingers
- You don’t need to tap hard for it to work
- There is no wrong way to use EFT, so don’ t feel pressured
- You can change the wording in the scripts for fit your needs
- You can tap anytime or anywhere
- Don’t substitute tapping for your doctor’s instructions.
- EFT may be used along with doctor’s care and instructions, but talk to them first.
EFT Scripts for Sleep Anxiety
Give yourself time to relax and tap.
Get your copy of these EFT scripts in a free PDF printable!
Scared I Will Never Sleep Again
Before we begin our tapping routine, I ask that you get a very clear picture in your mind of the worst night you had with sleep anxiety.
- What was your day like?
- What were you upset or stressed about?
- How did you physically feel?
- What did you eat or drink that day?
- What was your sleep environment like?
Get a clear picture so you SEE it and FEEL it in your body. Now that you have that clear picture, I want you to rate your emotions on a scale from 0-10.
Rate Emotions from 0-10
- 0 – My sleep routine doesn’t bother me
- 10 – being it is effecting every part of my life, overwhelming
Ready?
Karate Chop Point:
– Even though I know I will never have a good nights sleep again, I deeply love and accept myself.
– Even though I am upset and angry that I can’t ever feel rested, I deeply love and accept myself.
– Even though I feel anxious about the idea of going to bed and just laying there, I deeply love and accept myself who I am.
ROUND 1
Eyebrow: This frustration I feel about having sleep anxiety
Side of Eye: My thoughts race all day, and sometimes all night
Under Eye: How do I slow the thoughts down so I can sleep
Under Nose: It’s exhausting just thinking about all I have to do
Chin: Why can’t I turn off the thoughts just for a few hours
Collar Bone: I feel like I am going to lose my mind I am so exhausted
Under arm: I want to stop being so anxious and feeling stressed
Top of Head: Just getting a little bit of sleep is better than no sleep
ROUND 2
Eye brow: I want to feel like I have energy for once
Side of Eye: I’m tired of being tired
Under Eye: I feel like I am missing things by being tired all the time
Under Nose: I’m scared I will never sleep again!
Chin: Am I trying to avoid sleeping?
Collar Bone: I need to sleep so I can function
Under Arm: Getting rest will help me in all areas of my life
Top of Head: I want to understand why I feel anxious about sleeping
ROUND 3
Eye Brow: Instead of being scared about never sleeping again
Side of Eye: I can look at ways to calm my mind
Under Eye: I can prepare myself ahead of time for rest
Under Nose: Getting my space prepared for a good nights sleep
Chin: Getting my mind in a positive place for a good nights sleep
Collar Bone: I could actually get excited about my new routine
Under Arm: Momentum is on my side and I’m excited for new energy and good sleep
Top of Head: Today is a new day, to have more energy and be well rested
Take a deep breath.
– Check your rating again. Where are you on the 0-10 scale?
– Think about the feeling you had before, not being able to sleep.
– Does it still seem impossible? If so, do another round, change up the words, and check your rating again.
– Keep doing rounds until you feel this isn’t an issue for you anymore or you can’t remember it being an issues at all. This can take place over time and doesn’t need to be done all in one sitting.
Video: How to Use EFT (tapping) to Help you Sleep
Why Can’t I Sleep!
Go back to the very first night you remember feeling that you weren’t going to be able to fall asleep.
- Was there an event that happened that day to caused sleeplessness?
- How did you feel physically struggling to sleep?
- How did the anxiety of not sleeping effect your mind?
- What did you do instead of sleep that night?
Get that picture or movie in your mind, and really feel your emotions. Then rate your emotions.
Rate Emotions from 0-10
- 0 – Being you know it will get better
- 10 – Being it is effecting every part of my life, overwhelming
Ready?
Karate Chop Point:
– Even though I don’t like the idea of going to bed, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.
– Even though I know I won’t be able to fall asleep, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.
– Even though I have so much on my mind I can’t relax, I accept who I am right now.
Round 1
Eyebrow: It’s upsetting that I can’t fall asleep
Side of Eye: I don’t like thinking about bedtime
Under Eye: I would give anything to get a good night sleep
Under Nose: I can’t even image what that would feel like to be rested!
Chin: If I could let go of all the racing thoughts in my head
Collarbone: Not worrying about what happened yesterday, or what will happen tomorrow
Under Arm: It would be a miracle if I could let go of all these thoughts
Top of Head: I think I could rest better if I didn’t feel so overwhelmed
Round 2
Eyebrow: Worrying about what happened or what will happened doesn’t help
Side of Eye: My brain needs the rest
Under Eye: If I rest, then I will have a clear mind and be more productive
Under Nose: With a clear mind, I will have clear awake time
Chin: I won’t feel sleep deprived anymore
Collarbone: Maybe solutions will come to me in my dreams
Under arm: I need to give this a chance
Top of Head: I’m excited to have a full nights sleep and feel ready for the day!
Take a deep breath.
– Check your rating again. Where are you on the 0-10 scale?
– If you aren’t where you want to be on the scale, do another round, maybe changing the wording to fit you better.
Be Consistent
There are many solutions to help with getting a good night of sleep. EFT offers a very simple, non-evasive, and calming solution to help with sleep anxiety.
Using a journal to keep track of your experience each night, writing down the thoughts and memories you have during your tapping time, will be helpful to know how to make changes in your day to prepare for your night.
You don’t have to believe it will work, but I encourage you to tap consistently. Be open to the possibilities that getting a good night of rest may be easier than you thought possible!
Be patient with yourself and keep tapping!
EFT Coach Angela
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