Watching someone you care about struggle with anxiety can be painful, especially when that anxiety keeps them up late at night.

If you’ve never experienced anxiety before, or tend to sleep through the night without trouble, you might feel hesitant about doing or saying anything to help for fear of making things worse. But there are things you can do to make a difference – you just need to know where to start.

Of course, understanding what night-time anxiety is can really help. In short, it’s a term used to describe anxiety that strikes at night, either before or during sleep.

While the symptoms of night-time anxiety are the same as those experienced in the daytime, what makes night-time anxiety particularly challenging is the fact that it can stop the person dealing with it from falling asleep, leaving them feeling tired and groggy the next day.

Relationships and mental health: how to help a partner with night-time anxiety