How to Sleep Better with Anxiety: Try Slow Breathing
Key Takeaways
- Small shifts can make a big difference. Simple, science-backed breathing practices can calm your body, ease anxiety, and help you sleep more deeply.
- Help your body do what it’s meant to do. Slowing your breath sends a signal of safety to your brain—allowing your natural relaxation response to take over.
- Rest is part of resilience. Each night of better sleep helps restore balance, strengthen emotional well-being, and renew your capacity to handle what comes next.
If you've ever found yourself wide awake at 3 a.m. with your mind racing through to-do lists or worries—you're not alone. When life feels overwhelming, anxiety and stress can disrupt sleep patterns, making it harder to fall or stay asleep. Understanding how to sleep better with anxiety starts with calming your body and mind, and one of the simplest ways to do that is through your breath.
The Science Behind How to Sleep Better with Anxiety Through Slow Breathing
UCLA researcher Jack Feldman, PhD, studies the powerful connection between breathing and brain function. According to Feldman, prolonging exhales, especially through the mouth, calms the nervous system and slows the heart rate. These physiological changes shift the body into a more restful state, helping you fall asleep or return to sleep more easily. This makes slow, intentional breathing one of the most effective, natural tools for sleeping better with anxiety—no supplements required.
Therapist’s Tip: Calm your body and send a signal to your mind that it’s safe to rest.
When we’re in high-alert mode (like when we want to fall asleep but can’t), our breath tends to become quick and shallow. This signals danger to the brain, keeping the body stuck in “go” mode.
Practicing slow, steady exhales sends the opposite message to your brain: you’re safe now. Over time, this simple shift helps retrain your nervous system to relax more easily—allowing your body and mind to rest.
The Sleep–Wellness Connection
According to Stanford neuroscientist Andrew Huberman, PhD, sleep is more than rest—it’s a nightly biological reset that supports nearly every part of your well-being, including:
Recovery from stress
Staying steady through emotional ups and downs
Clearer thinking
Stronger immune function
Processing difficult or traumatic experiences
Hormonal balance
In other words, sleep is your body’s built-in healing system—and your breath can help activate it.
Try This Tonight: A Simple Breathing Technique for Sleep
When sleep doesn’t come easily, try this simple technique:
Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds.
Exhale slowly through your mouth for 6–8 seconds.
Continue for 2–5 minutes until you feel your body settle.
You may notice your heart rate slow, your shoulders drop, and your mind begin to quiet. This is your body shifting from “fight-or-flight” into “rest-and-digest”—the perfect state for deeper, more restorative sleep.
Therapist Tip
If anxiety keeps you up at night, try pairing this breathing practice with a grounding thought on the exhale such as, “I can rest now” or “I can breathe and let the day go.” Over time, this gentle habit can help you fall asleep faster and wake feeling more refreshed, restored, and resilient.
If stress or anxiety are keeping you awake at night, therapy can help. I provide anxiety and stress therapy in Walnut Creek, CA, and online across California, so you can restore balance and get the rest your body needs. Click below to learn more:
Therapist Bio
Cari Browning, RN, LCSW, is a licensed therapist and founder of Resilience Focused Therapy in Walnut Creek, CA. Dually trained as both a nurse and psychotherapist, she brings a whole-person, mind-body perspective to her work—supporting both mental and physical health. Cari specializes in helping adults, couples, and teens navigate anxiety, stress, trauma, and relationship challenges with evidence-based approaches, including EMDR, DBT, and the Gottman Method. She is passionate about blending science-backed strategies with compassionate care to help clients feel more confident, resilient, and connected.
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References:
Ashhad, Sufyan, et al. "Breathing rhythm and pattern and their influence on emotion." Annual review of neuroscience 45.1 (2022): 223-247.
Huberman, A. [@hubermanlab]. (2021, September 15). [Tweet]. https://x.com/hubermanlab/status/1438316907598258177