Why does anxiety cause muscle tension?
Anxiety causes muscle tension because alert mode makes your body brace so your muscles are ready to move. When those muscles stay tight for hours or days, they stiffen, ache and get sore.
Try the practice nowHow alert mode tightens your muscles
The word anxiety comes from the Latin word "ango", which means to constrict. When you enter alert mode, your body braces and your muscles tighten so you are ready to move.
Common places to hold this tightness are your jaw, your forehead, your shoulders, your upper back, your hands and your belly.
Many people do not realize they are bracing until they stop and check in with their body. Muscles held tight ache the way your arms burn if you hold a plank.
Why the aches keep building
Sore, stiff muscles draw your attention back to your body. Focusing on every ache raises your internal alarm, which makes your muscles brace again.
When you feel that tightness, trying hard to relax adds more effort on top of the tension you already hold. Noticing the effort you are using and doing a little less of it works better than forcing your body to let go.
Attention on a pleasant sensation, like warm water on your shoulders, is the opposite of a panic spiral. Muscle tension from anxiety is not dangerous, and the soreness eases as your alert state settles.
Why tightness shows up on calm days
After weeks of anxiety, your body can stop switching between rest mode and alert mode and stay in alert mode. Because your body holds that state in the background, tight and aching muscles can show up on days you do not feel anxious.
You might wake up already sore or notice your shoulders creeping up while you sit at a desk on a quiet afternoon. This state is trainable with daily practice.
Try 1/10th the Effort right now
- Find a comfortable position and take one breath, then scan your body for effort: your jaw, around your eyes, your shoulders and neck, your forearms and hands.
- Ask yourself: could I stay here with one tenth of the effort I am using? Let the question sit without trying to answer it.
- Let your jaw, eyes and tongue soften, and notice that trying to relax is another kind of effort.
- Let your shoulders soften and feel the ground or chair holding you up, so you do not have to.
When to check with a doctor
- You have chest pain, or pain that spreads to your arm, jaw or back, with sweating or breathlessness (call emergency services).
- Your muscles are very sore, swollen or weak and your pee turns dark brown or tea-colored (get seen right away).
- It started after an injury or a fall.
- You have numbness, weakness, fever, weight loss, or pain that wakes you at night.
- It started with a new medicine or a dose change.
- It has lasted more than a few weeks, or you hurt all over with tiredness and poor sleep for months.
Practice with the Stateshift app
Common questions
What helps muscle tension from anxiety ease?
Moving, gentle stretching and warmth help tight, sore muscles ease up.
Can anxiety make you clench or grind your teeth in your sleep?
Yes, your body can hold tension in sleep when it stays in alert mode. Clenching your jaw or grinding your teeth at night is a common way that bracing shows up while you rest.