What symptom is characteristic of anxiety impacting sleep?

The characteristic symptom of anxiety impacting sleep is problems falling asleep. When individuals experience anxiety, their racing thoughts and heightened arousal can lead to difficulty initiating sleep. This is often due to an overactive mind that struggles to relax, making it challenging to transition into a restful state necessary for sleep.

Anxiety can provoke feelings of worry and unease that manifest during quiet times, particularly when trying to settle down for the night. The inability to quiet these thoughts can delay the onset of sleep, resulting in prolonged periods of wakefulness.

While other symptoms such as frequent waking during the night or feeling tired despite sleeping too much can occur, they are not exclusively linked to anxiety in the same way that difficulty falling asleep is. In terms of anxiety specifically, the initial challenge in the sleep process is a primary indicator.