Uptight? Quit staying up all night. A lack of sleep can make you more anxious, says a new study from UC Berkeley.
Researchers found that sleep-deprived people who anticipated a potentially gruesome image to appear on screen showed significantly more activity in the brain regions associated with anxiety than when they waited to see the images on a full night’s rest.
And in the experiment, those who were naturally anxious to begin with saw the biggest activity spike, suggesting that innate worriers are even more at risk of developing full-blown anxiety disorder if they don’t get enough shuteye, says study coauthor Matthew Walker, Ph.D.
The solution, of course, is to get more sleep—but that can be a tall task. One way to start: breaking a small sweat. In a study at the University of Arizona, a brisk six-block walk was all it took to reduce sleep disruptions in men. A regular workout program works fine, too—just do it in the late afternoon, like when you get off work. This will cause your body temperature to drop a few hours later, making you drowsy and ready to snooze right before bedtime.
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