When you are weighed down by anxiety, how often has someone said to you, “Get a good night’s sleep and you’ll feel better in the morning”? You wake up the next day feeling just as anxious, or even more so.
While a good night’s sleep may help reduce anxiety, for some people this just isn’t so. Indeed, some people who struggle with anxiety, particularly those who experience generalized anxiety as an ongoing problem, feel their most intense anxiety upon first awakening.
We don’t fully understand why this is true for some people and not for others. Studies have been done, but no conclusive answer has been found. Some point to the tendency of cortisol, the “stress hormone,” to rise toward morning, but this does not explain everyone’s experience.
When anxiety is the first thing you feel upon awakening, that is not a good beginning to the day! It may discourage you from getting out of bed and make you want to creep back under your covers and go back to sleep. This rarely works, however, because the anxiety you feel upon awakening keeps you awake.
As Christians, we know that each day of our lives is a gift from God and that he wants us to flourish in it. There are a number of ways to address morning anxiety. These include self-care practices such as physical activity, challenging negative thoughts, practicing gratitude, relaxation exercises, and Christian meditation. Another way to confront morning anxiety is to seek God’s presence through prayer. That prayer can be strengthened by Bible verses focused on the promise of God’s support in the coming day. It may even be a good idea to print out some of these verses and have them ready to read immediately after awakening.
Examples of such verses are:
Psalm 118:24
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
Lamentations 3:22–23
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Isaiah 43:18–19
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
Psalm 59:16
“But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.”
Psalm 5:3
“In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.”
There are many more such verses, and they are easy to find using a Bible or a Bible search tool. Find three or four verses that help you the most and rely on them at first, but eventually seek out alternatives to vary and strengthen your wake-up prayer.
You may want to open the curtains and let the daylight in for this prayer, and perhaps even look at what’s happening outside your window as you pray. This is not a complicated prayer. It does not have to be a long one. It can precede your regular morning quiet time if you have one. You are simply saying to God, “Thank you that I am alive today, and help me all day to appreciate your gift of life.” In my own life, I often start my day by looking out the window at the mountains in the distance and saying, “I lift my eyes up to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1–2). This short prayer starts my day by helping me focus on the Lord, and I find that it eases my anxiety.
Addressing morning anxiety is only a part of overcoming generalized anxiety, and a more important part for some than for others. But if you are one of those who feel fear and dread when you wake up, it can be a helpful beginning.
If you have morning anxiety that is ongoing and overwhelming, it may be a sign of an anxiety disorder that could benefit from anxiety therapy. I can help you understand what you’re experiencing and find ways to manage it. I offer a free 15-minute consultation to discuss how we might work together. Call me, Beth Hastings, at 973-464-2759.