Why Anxiety Is Worse In The Morning (And What To Do)

If you wake up with anxiety already there, you’re not alone.

That tight chest, the sinking feeling in your stomach, the racing thoughts before the day has even started can make mornings feel like the hardest part.

In this episode, I explain why anxiety often feels worse in the morning, what keeps the cycle going, and a simple practical plan you can use straight after waking up. You’ll learn how to stop the morning spiral, how to start your day without feeding the fear, and a few small steps that help your nervous system settle naturally as you go.

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are concerned about your health or symptoms, please speak with a qualified healthcare professional. If you are in immediate danger or feel at risk of harming yourself, call your local emergency number straight away.

Transcript

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Welcome to the Anxiety Relief Podcast. I'm your host, Ross Rolfe, the Anxiety Coach, here to help you conquer anxiety and build a calm, confident life. In each episode, we'll explore the tools, stories, and insights to help you take control of anxiety and live life on your terms. Without further ado, let's get started. Hello and welcome to the anxiety relief podcast. My name's Ross, and today we're talking about morning anxiety. So if you wake up and the anxiety is already there, you are not alone. That heavy feeling in your chest, that sinking feeling in your stomach, the race in mind before you've even got out of bed. Yes, it's horrendous. And I know lots of you suffer with that, and you almost wake up straight away into a panic. Sometimes even that rush of adrenaline, like your body's already bracing for something to happen. And it can be really confusing because you might think, what on earth am I anxious about? The day hasn't even started yet. So in this episode, I'm going to explain why anxiety can feel worse in the morning. What keeps the cycle going, and what to do instead in a simple, practical way. So first, why mornings feel worse? For some people, obviously. That's that's the asterisk to that one. For some people, and I but I do know this affects lots of people. So one reason is your body is naturally changing gear when you wake up, and your brain and body are designed to get you up and get you ready for the day. And that means your hormones rise, your alertness increases, and your nervous system switches on. For some people, though, that normal switch on can feel like anxiety, especially if your system has been sensitized by stress or previous panic. And it's like your alarm system is going to get a high sensitive, is like already set to some kind of high sensitivity. It's probably the best way of describing that. So a normal morning rise in your alertness levels keeps being misread as a danger. And another reason is that mornings are also quiet for most people. And I know what you're thinking if you've got kids and that, it's manic, but get where I'm going with this. So mornings in general, though, are more quiet than when there's lots of stuff going on. So there's less distraction, your brain scans for how you're feeling, right? Because there's less going on. So it's straight away going, what's going on? How do I feel? And if you've had anxiety for a while, your brain has basically developed a habit of checking in the moment you wake up. How do I feel? Is it there? Can I feel that anxiety? Do I feel normal? Is today going to be a bad day? What if I can't cope? Those sorts of things, right? And that scanning sounds innocent, but it's one of the biggest drivers of morning anxiety. And because the moment you check, you're already telling your brain that there is something for it to look for. So it finds it. And then you react. And now the day starts with you already in the loop. Another reason morning anxiety can feel strong is the basics hydration, blood sugar, and rushing. Now, this is really key. If you wake up dehydrated, you haven't eaten, and then you throw caffeine in straight away and start rushing, your body can actually feel jittery and on edge. And an anxious brain interprets jittery as danger. So it adds the fear to it. Now I want you to hear this clearly. Morning anxiety doesn't mean you're broken. It doesn't mean today is going to be a bad day. It doesn't mean you're going backwards. It usually means your body has switched on and your brain has learned to scan and predict threat early on. But we can retrain that. So here's what to do. And I call this the first five minutes rule. So for the first five minutes after you wake up, you do not analyze your mind or body. No checking how you feel, no predicting how the day will go, no trying to solve it. Because the moment you analyze, you invite that spiral to begin. Instead, you run a simple routine that tells your nervous system we're safe, we're steady, and we're starting normally. And here's a really simple plan you can follow. The first thing is to hydrate. So drink some water, even if it's just a few sips of water. You're not doing this as some kind of miracle cure. You're doing it because it helps your body settle and it stops you going straight into caffeine, which then leads to that panic mode setting in. The second thing is light. So if you can get daylight in your eyes early, open the curtains. Ideally, step outside for one minute. Stand at the door. Even just looking out of a window, if you can't get yourself to go outside, will help. But obviously, ideally, going outside for one minute. And that light tells your brain it's morning and helps regulate your body clock and that alertness in a calmer way. Third, do a little movement. Nothing intense here. I literally mean a little bit of movement. So get your body moving gently, like walk into the kitchen, stretching your arms, maybe roll your shoulders, have a little oh lift your arms up. Whatever it is you feel you need to do, give your legs a little shake out. Whatever it is, it just needs to be movement because movement is a signal to your nervous system that you can handle the energy. Anxiety is often energy with fear on top. So I'm just gonna say that again because that's a key bit there. Anxiety is often energy with fear on top. So the movement helps your body process the energy without you sitting there trying to think your way out of it. Now, if you want one quick breathing tool in the morning, keep it simple. Do one or two physiological size, and I've taught that in previous episodes, so I'm not going to go into that in too much detail, but essentially it's one inhale through your nose and a small top up of an inhale through the nose, almost straight after. Then it's a long, slow exhale through your mouth, and do that once or twice. So that whole routine of that with a breathing, once or twice. Not 10 times, not as a ritual, just as a quick reset to take the early edge off and stop you bracing for this impending doom. Now the next part is the most important. Pick one small normal action and just simply do it. Make the tea, have a shower, brush your teeth, get dressed, make breakfast. One of them. And ideally, move on and do all of them. The goal is not that you feel great before you even start, right? The goal is just to start anyway. If you let your feelings dictate your actions, you will be stuck in the loop. And essentially your brain will learn to not make you do the things you know you need to do. And it actually makes it more difficult. Whereas if it knows that you're going to do it anyway, it won't even bother kick-starting into that alert mode. So the goal is to start anyway, regardless of how you feel. Because confidence comes from action, not waiting until you feel ready. Now let's talk about what not to do. Because there are habits that keep that morning anxiety stuck in place. Do not lie in bed and just scan your body. Do not scroll through your phone and search for symptoms. Do not start negotiating with yourself about the whole day, what you should or shouldn't do, ways to get out of doing things. It is a total waste of time and will just make things worse, I promise you. And try not to wake up and immediately go for caffeine before water or food. I know everyone, well, the majority of people love a coffee. Yeah. So you're listening to this and you probably love your coffee. And that's fine, but just give yourself a little bit of steady first. Just give your body that little bit to calm itself first. Now I want you to have this short script that you can basically say in the morning when you feel that the anxiety is there. Okay. So this is what you can use. My body is switching on for the day. This feeling is uncomfortable but not dangerous. I don't need to solve this right now. I'm going to start my day normally and let my nervous system settle as I go. That is the mindset. Not how do I get rid of this, but how do I start without feeding it? Now let me add one final point for you. Morning anxiety often improves when you stop treating it like a forecast. People wake up anxious when they assume today will be terrible. But anxiety is not a prediction, it's a state. It rises and falls like a wave. And the fastest way to shorten it is to stop arguing with it. Stop analyzing it. Start your day with those simple steps I gave you: water, light, movement, breathing, and one normal action. That is your absolute foundation to get your day started the right way. And it doesn't have to be this massive ritual. Those are five like really quick, super easy things to do. So here's your small challenge for this week. For the next seven mornings, practice the first five minutes rule, which is what I call that. No analysing for five minutes, no laying in bed and dreading the world, dreading what your anxiety is going to do for you. Or two, I should say. Instead, water, light, gentle movement, breathing, one small action. And then see what happens. And that's where you're not going to be checking every second, but you're going to be noticing over time that mornings become less frightening when you stop making them a test. And also, this will work, even if you're one of these people who wakes up in a sudden panic, right? You can literally start using these what I've given you there straight away with the water. Yeah. So start go through them five steps and it will help you. Because I know there'll be some people listening going, oh, but I wake up straight away in a panic. Okay. Use this episode, listen to it, listen to it again, listen to it again, again, again. But most importantly, do the steps. If you do them consistently, I guarantee it will help you. If this episode helped you, share it with someone who wakes up anxious and thinks they're the only one because they're not. So no one is alone in this. It's very, very common. But the most important thing you realize is it can be beaten. Make sure you follow the podcast so you don't miss the next episode. Thanks for listening, and I'll speak to you soon. Thank you for tuning in to the Anxiety Relief Podcast. I hope today's episode left you feeling a little more calm, confident, and in control. Remember, small steps every day can lead to a big transformation in your life. If you found this episode helpful, please don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who you think might benefit. For more tools and resources, head over to my website at www.rostroll.com. And don't forget to join the Anxiety Relief Hub on Facebook, which is a supportive community where you can connect, share, and grow. Until next time.