Health
‘I can’t sleep because of racing thoughts at night — how can I stop them?’: Ask a doctor
Even when following the recommended sleep hygiene habits — like cutting off caffeine mid-day, stashing your devices an hour before bed, and winding down your day with light music or reading — racing thoughts could still interrupt your nightly rest.
If your sleep routine isn’t a dream, you’re not alone — one in three American adults don’t regularly get the recommended amount of uninterrupted slumber, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Fox News Digital asked a psychiatrist for common reasons and his top tips to achieve a quiet mind that’s conducive to rest.
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Reasons for racing thoughts
While causes can vary, there are some common triggers for racing thoughts at night, according to Ramaswamy Viswanathan, MD, president of the American Psychiatric Association, who is based in Brooklyn, New York.
One in three American adults don’t regularly get the recommended amount of uninterrupted sleep, according to the CDC. (iStock)
Stress and anxiety are the primary culprits.
“Anxiety about the day ahead can also cause it,” the doctor told Fox News Digital. “Mental health conditions such as anxiety disorders and bipolar disorder also can lead to racing thoughts.”
Those thoughts tend to be more active at night, when there aren’t other activities occupying the mind.
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“At night, when there are fewer distractions, it’s easier to ruminate over the day we just had and worries such as troubles at work, family or financial concerns,” said Viswanathan, who is also professor and interim chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn.
Consuming stimulants such as caffeine or taking certain medications close to bedtime can also interfere with relaxation and excessive mental activity, he noted.
How do racing thoughts impair sleep?
Racing thoughts lead to a heightened state of arousal, which makes it difficult to relax and transition into sleep, the doctor said.
And when you finally do fall asleep, an anxious mind could interrupt that sleep as the night progresses.
Stress and anxiety are the primary culprits of racing thoughts at night, experts say. (iStock)
“Many people also resume worrying when they wake up in the middle of the night, and this interferes with falling back asleep,” Viswanathan noted.
Although it’s normal to have brief periods of awakening during the night, most people fall back to sleep quickly.
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Those who are experiencing stress, anxiety and worry, however, aren’t able to drift back as easily.
“Since there is physiologic arousal with racing thoughts, that arousal does not readily subside when one falls asleep, and this can interfere with deep, restorative sleep,” Viswanathan told Fox News Digital.
This can be compounded as people then start to worry about their inability to fall asleep, which makes it even more difficult to drift off.
Effects of sleep deprivation
Inadequate or poor-quality sleep can have serious negative effects on the mind and body, including decreased brain function and difficulty making decisions, solving problems and regulating emotions, Viswanathan told Fox News Digital.
“It causes headaches, irritability and fatigue, and reduces attention and functional efficiency,” he said. “It also contributes to traffic accidents, work mistakes and relationship impairment.”
Fatigue, headaches and irritability are among the common effects of insufficient or poor-quality sleep, according to experts. (iStock)
Long-term health can also be compromised.
“Sleep deprivation can suppress immune function, make one more susceptible to infections, and cause unhealthy eating and weight gain,” Viswanathan warned.
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It can also increase the risk of developing chronic health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke, and can also also shorten life span, he added.
Strategies to silence racing thoughts
Taking a proactive approach is the best way to tackle chronic sleep troubles, according to Viswanathan.
“Addressing sleep issues early on and seeking professional help when needed is important to prevent immediate and long-term consequences,” he said.
Sleep deprivation can increase the risk of developing chronic health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke, and can also also shorten life span. (iStock)
Below are some actionable steps to help keep nighttime thoughts under control.
1. Establish a bedtime routine
Sticking to a regular nighttime routine with a consistent bedtime and awakening time is “very important,” Viswanathan advised.
“Sleep deprivation can suppress immune function, make one more susceptible to infections, and cause unhealthy eating and weight gain.”
2. Be careful with late drinking and eating
Abstain from caffeinated beverages, alcohol or heavy food too close to bedtime, the doctor recommended.
3. Refrain from device use close to bedtime
Stop using smartphone displays, television screens and computers an hour before bed, Viswanathan suggested.
Abstain from caffeinated beverages, alcohol or heavy food too close to bedtime, one doctor recommended. (iStock)
“The blue light emitted from these devices interferes with the circadian rhythm,” he said.
Instead, the doctor suggests listening to light music, reading a book, or using relaxation techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing and meditation.
4. Try a warm bath
Taking a warm bath about three hours before turning in may help calm the mind — but Viswanathan cautioned that it shouldn’t be too close to bedtime.
5. Create an environment conducive to sleep
For optimal sleep, the bedroom should be quiet, dark and cool (around 68 degrees Fahrenheit), with comfortable bedding, the doctor recommended.
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Consider using motion-activated night lights to prevent falls in the event that you need to get up in the middle of the night.
6. Schedule a time to worry
If these techniques alone are not sufficient to reduce racing thoughts, Viswanathan suggests scheduling a “worry time,” designating a specific window of time to think about your concerns and identifying a path to possible solutions.
Writing down your worries and anxieties can help prevent sleep-interrupting thoughts. (iStock)
“This reassures you that you will address your worries, but keeps them from spilling over into your bedtime,” the doctor said.
7. Write down your concerns
Consider keeping a notebook next to your bed so you can jot down your worries as they occur and tell yourself you will act on them during the specified worry period the next day, offered Viswanathan.
8. Know when to seek help
If these self-help techniques do not work, it may be wise to seek help from a mental health professional.
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“This is especially important if you are suffering from a mental health disorder,” emphasized Viswanathan.
The professional will perform assessments to identify any sleep disorders and recommend treatment, which may include cognitive-behavior therapy, other psychotherapies or medications.
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Eating too much salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but new research suggests it could trick the immune system into prematurely aging the blood vessels.
A preclinical study recently published in the Journal of the American Heart Association has identified a biological chain reaction that links a salty diet to cardiovascular decay.
Scientists at the University of South Alabama observed that mice on a high-salt diet experienced rapid deterioration in their blood vessel function.
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After just four weeks of high sodium intake, the small arteries responsible for regulating blood flow lost their ability to relax, according to a press release.
The team found that the cells lining these vessels had entered a state of cellular senescence, a form of premature cellular aging in which cells stop dividing and release a mix of inflammatory signals that can damage surrounding tissue.
Excess salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but a new study goes deeper into its effects on the cardiovascular system. (iStock)
The researchers tried to replicate this damage by exposing blood vessel cells directly to salt in a laboratory dish, but the cells showed no harmful effects.
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This suggests that salt isn’t directly causing damage to the vascular lining but that the real culprit may be the body’s own defense mechanism, the researchers noted.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system to release a molecule called interleukin-16 (IL-16), which acts as a messenger that instructs blood vessel cells to grow old before their time, according to the study.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system to release a molecule called interleukin-16, which acts as a messenger that instructs blood vessel cells to grow old before their time, according to the study. (iStock)
Once these cells age, they fail to produce nitric oxide, the essential gas that tells arteries to dilate and stay flexible.
To test whether this process could be reversed, the team turned to a class of experimental drugs known as senolytics.
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Using a cancer medication called navitoclax, which selectively clears out aged and dysfunctional cells, the researchers were able to restore nearly normal blood vessel function in the salt-fed mice, the release stated.
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By removing the decaying cells created by the high-salt diet, the drug allowed the remaining healthy tissue to maintain its elasticity and respond correctly to blood flow demands.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system into stopping the cells from dividing, the study suggests. (iStock)
The study did have some limitations. The transition from mouse models to human treatment remains a significant hurdle, the team cautioned.
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Senolytic drugs like navitoclax are still being studied for safety, and the team emphasized that previous trials have shown mixed results regarding their impact on artery plaque.
Additionally, the researchers have not yet confirmed whether the same IL-16 pathway is the primary driver of vascular aging in humans.
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Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables was found to have a surprising link to lung cancer among younger non-smokers, early research suggests.
The observational study, led by Jorge Nieva, M.D., of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at Keck Medicine, was presented this month at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting in San Diego. It has not yet been peer-reviewed.
Researchers looked at dietary, smoking and demographic data for 187 patients who were diagnosed with lung cancer at age 50 or younger.
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They found that among non-smokers, there was a link between healthier-than-average diets – rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains – and the chance of lung cancer development.
Young lung cancer patients ate more servings of dark green vegetables, legumes and whole grains compared to the average U.S. adult, the researchers found.
Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables was found to have a surprising link to lung cancer among younger non-smokers, early research suggests. (iStock)
The researchers hypothesized that pesticides applied to conventionally grown produce could be a possible factor in the disease association.
“Commercially produced (non-organic) fruits, vegetables and whole grains are more likely to be associated with a higher residue of pesticides than dairy, meat and many processed foods,” according to Nieva. He also noted that agricultural workers exposed to pesticides tend to have higher rates of lung cancer.
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“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking,” Nieva told Fox News Digital.
The disease is becoming more common in non-smokers 50 and younger, especially women – despite the fact that smoking rates have been falling for decades, the researcher noted.
The researchers hypothesized that pesticides applied to conventionally grown produce could be a possible factor in the disease association. (iStock)
“These patients tend to have eaten much healthier diets before their diagnosis than the average American,” he went on. “We need to support research into understanding why Americans – and women in particular – who no longer smoke very much are still having lung cancer,” he said.
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The study did have some limitations, Nieva acknowledged, primarily that it relied on survey data and was limited by the participants’ memories of their food intake.
“Also, the survey participants were self-selected, and this could have biased the findings,” he told Fox News Digital.
“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking.”
The researchers did not test specific foods for pesticides, relying instead on average pesticide levels for certain types of food. Looking ahead, they plan to test patients’ blood and urine samples to directly measure pesticide levels, Nieva said.
Although the study shows only an association and does not prove that pesticides caused lung cancer, Nieva recommends that people wash their produce before eating and choose organic foods whenever possible.
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“This work represents a critical step toward identifying modifiable environmental factors that may contribute to lung cancer in young adults,” said Nieva. “Our hope is that these insights can guide both public health recommendations and future investigation into lung cancer prevention.”
“It is possible that the increased lung cancer risk could be due to pesticide exposure in whole farmed foods, but is by no means certain,” a doctor said. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, said the study is “interesting,” but that it “raises far more questions than it answers.”
“It is a small study (around 150) and observational, so no proof,” the doctor, who was not involved in the research, told Fox News Digital.
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“It is possible that the increased lung cancer risk could be due to pesticide exposure in whole farmed foods, but it is by no means certain,” Siegel went on. “How much exposure is needed? How much of it gets into food and in which areas? This requires much further study.”
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Kayla Nichols, communications director for Pesticide Action & Agroecology Network, a distributed global network, said the organization agrees with the study’s conclusion that more research should be done on the rise in lung cancer, particularly in individuals eating diets higher in produce and fiber.
“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking,” the researcher told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
“There is a bounty of existing research that already links pesticide exposure to increased risk of multiple types of cancers,” Nichols, who was also not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. She called for more research on chronic, low-level exposures to pesticides, as well as more effective policies to protect the public from pesticide residues on food.
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The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute, as well as industry partners including AstraZeneca and Genentech, among others.
Fox News Digital reached out to several pesticide companies and trade groups for comment.
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