How war anxiety disrupts your sleep: UAE doctors share steps to calm your brain at night

In the past few days, we have witnessed a particular kind of exhaustion. Unable to stay awake, and unable to sleep. There’s an urge to grab the phone every few minutes, scanning for updates. Scroll, scroll, and scroll again. New words have entered our vocabulary overnight, looping through our thoughts and exhausting us long after we put the screen down.

In moments of global tension, constant news alerts and collective anxiety, this pattern becomes common. It’s especially true for those living in the UAE, and for residents abroad, relying entirely on news updates to know when they can return home.

 Sleep begins to fray. The body is tired. The mind is not.

In these trying times, sleep specialists speak to us on how, exactly we can manage our sleep cycles. Mohammad Nami, Associate Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuropsychology and Sleep Physician at Canadian University Dubai explains, “When we hear about danger, even if it’s happening far away, our brain reacts as if it might be personal. It switches into ‘alert mode.”

 The stress hormone, coristol, rises. The heart beats faster and the body prepares to act. “That’s helpful in real danger. But sleep requires the opposite state: safety, calm, and slowing down. If the brain keeps scanning for threat, it becomes harder to fall asleep or stay asleep,” explains Dr Nami.

 Even reading upsetting headlines before bed can keep the brain in this alert state longer than we realise.

 After all, sleep is about safety too, not just rest

From a physiological standpoint, the brain does not neatly separate ‘my immediate danger’  from ‘danger I am repeatedly witnessing’.

Dr  Jasmine Ceus, Sleep Specialist at Medcare Royal Speciality Hospital, puts it plainly: “From a sleep physiology standpoint, repeated exposure to distressing content keeps the brain in threat-monitoring mode. The amygdala becomes more active, cortisol levels stay elevated, and the nervous system remains in a mild ‘fight-or-flight’ state.”

 Two mechanisms drive this:

 “The brain does not clearly distinguish between experienced danger and repeatedly witnessed danger. Doom-scrolling close to bedtime is particularly activating because REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep consolidates emotional memories,” Dr Ceus explains.

As a result, the excessive exposure can worsen sleep, onset insomnia and you wake up in the middle of the night, probably after having vivid or stressful dreams. The biology might be straightforward, but the impact is far more complicated.

Waking up briefly during the night is normal. We cycle through lighter and deeper stages of sleep and often surface into consciousness for seconds at a time.

 Under stress, however, those micro-awakenings stretch into something longer. Dr Nami explains that when we wake up at 3 am, the mind may immediately start reviewing worries. “This happens because stress makes the brain more ‘reactive.’ Instead of drifting back to sleep, the mind starts problem-solving in the dark. Unfortunately, nighttime is when worries often feel bigger and heavier,” says Nami.

 The darkness strips away distraction. There are no emails to answer, no conversations to soften thoughts, no daylight perspective. Just a hyper-alert brain trying to solve global instability at 3am.

 One of the most common complaints during periods of collective stress is the sudden intensity of dreams. People report more vivid imagery, emotionally charged scenarios, even night terrors.

 When sleep becomes lighter or more fragmented, we remember dreams more clearly, Dr Nami explains. The stress influences our dreams and so many, might even keep having nightmares of missiles.

 Dr Ceus adds that this pattern has been observed repeatedly after major global events. “During times of collective uncertainty, pandemics, wars, economic instability, social unrest, dream intensity increases. Research after major global events has consistently shown spikes in vivid dreams and nightmares.” 

“Vivid dreams, mean the brain is working through stress,” Ceus says.

 Night terrors, particularly in children, can also rise when the nervous system is overloaded or sleep becomes fragmented. Occasional stress-related dream changes are normal. Persistent, distressing nightmares that impair daytime functioning may require professional support.

 The key message: Intense dreams are often a sign that the brain is metabolising what it cannot process during the day.

 Adults are not the only ones whose sleep shifts during global crises. Children, even those shielded from direct news exposure, are acutely sensitive to emotional climate.

 “Children absorb stress even if they don’t fully understand the news. They pick up on adult conversations, tone of voice, and emotional tension,” says Dr Nami.

 Parents may notice trouble falling asleep, nightmares, waking and calling for reassurance, bedwetting in younger children, or refusal to sleep alone. Daytime signals, irritability, stomachaches, headaches, trouble concentrating, are often the nervous system speaking.

 The child may not articulate fear of missiles or geopolitics. But the body registers uncertainty.

 We often think blue light is the primary problem with screens before bed. It is part of the issue,  but not the whole story.

 Dr Nami breaks it down: “First, upsetting content keeps the brain in ‘threat mode.’ Repeated exposure can make the body feel like danger is ongoing. Second, screens emit blue light, which tells the brain it’s daytime. This can delay melatonin, the hormone that helps us feel sleepy. So late-night scrolling is a double challenge: emotional stimulation plus biological stimulation.”

 It's emotional stimulation that keeps you awake.  The bedroom can become a threat-processing space. A place meant for restoration turns into a control centre for scanning updates.

 That shift matters more than we realise. The brain sleeps when it feels safe. If stress disrupts sleep through hypervigilance, the solution is to return to safety.

 “The brain loves predictability. Repeating the same calming steps each night teaches the nervous system that it’s safe to switch off,” says Nami.

Dr Ceus suggests sensory grounding, warm showers, weighted blankets, soft lighting and even a brief written reassurance ritual: a line such as “Nothing requires my attention until morning.”

 There is also power in what she calls a “close the day” practice: writing tomorrow’s top three tasks to reduce cognitive looping.

 “The goal is nervous system down-regulation,” she says.

 Consistency matters more than intensity. Small, repeated signals of safety accumulate.

 When anxious thoughts surge at night, many people try to reason with them. Physiology responds better to breath. Slow breathing directly tells the nervous system to shift from ‘fight or flight’ into rest and restore.  Even five minutes can reduce heart rate and muscle tension. A simple method is breathing-in slowly for four counts, pausing briefly, and breathing out for six counts. The longer exhale gently activates the calming branch of the nervous system, Dr Nami explains.

Moreover, longer exhales are key. Structured breathing often works better than open-ended meditation for highly anxious individuals. You do not need an hour-long practice. Five to ten minutes can interrupt the spiral, adds Dr Ceus.

 If there is one practical change sleep specialists agree on, it is this: Create distance between you and the news before bed.

 Ideally: Stop consuming news at least 60 minutes before bedtime. Avoid screens in the final 30 to 60 minutes if possible. “Keep phones out of the bed. You do not need to avoid news completely. But giving your brain a ‘buffer zone’ before sleep helps it transition out of alert mode,” says Nami.

 Dr Ceus recommends a minimum of 60 minutes, with an optimal “digital sunset” 90 minutes before sleep.

 If updates must be checked, set boundaries. Avoid bed-based scrolling. Consume earlier in the evening.

 For some, behavioural strategies may not be enough during acute stress. However, medication is usually not the first step. Behavioral strategies and stress reduction techniques are preferred initially. If sleep medication is needed, it should be used under medical guidance and for a limited period, Dr Nami advises.

 And so, while short-term support can be reasonable, including low-dose melatonin or physician-prescribed medications, Dr Ceus cautions against chronic reliance.

 If insomnia lasts more than three to four weeks, nightmares are trauma-linked, or panic awakenings are frequent, professional evaluation is important.

 Sleep problems caused by stress often improve as stress decreases, especially when protective habits are in place.

 If there is one principle both specialists converge on, it is this: predictability heals.

The last hour before bed, needs to be protected. As Dr Nami says, it's a psychological safety window. "Reduce news, dim lights, slow your breathing, and follow the same calming routine each night. When the world feels uncertain, consistency becomes medicine for the brain. Even small nightly rituals can help your nervous system remember that, in this moment, you are safe enough to rest."

The world will not switch off at 10pm. Headlines may continue. Alerts may keep arriving.

 But inside your home, inside your final hour before bed, you can create something different: repetition, softness, dim light, slower breath.

 And sometimes, that is enough for the brain to release its grip, just long enough to rest.