EastEnders star Nina Wadia developed anxiety-induced insomnia after having kids
All new parents prepare for sleepless nights, but when Nina Wadia became a mum she developed anxiety-induced insomnia, which sparked two decades of troubled sleep.
For years before having children, the former EastEnders actress struggled with an overactive brain, particularly at night, which she says brought some professional "positives" including "clarity of thought" about how to play characters.
But after welcoming daughter Tia, now 19, then son Aidan four years later, Nina's propensity to overthink after dark progressed into anxiety-induced insomnia.
At its worst, she was surviving on only two hours of sleep per night.
"I wish somebody had told me when I decided to have a family that I'd never sleep again," says Nina, who played Zainab Masood in the BBC soap until 2013.
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Nina Wadia (pictured) has said she developed anxiety-induced insomnia after becoming a parent (Getty Images)
Nina, pictured with daughter Tia Mirza (left), said she had struggled with an overactive brain at night in the years prior (Dave Benett/Getty Images)"The night is where my anxiety lies because I'm a worrier. If an issue or a problem is upsetting me, I will not sleep until I find a solution and a lot of times, that solution doesn't exist.
"First, Tia had colic for three years, so I'd lie awake all night worrying about that. Over the years, I'd wake 15 or 20 times because of restlessness rooted in stress over everything in my life from my house to my career."
Five years ago, following a family holiday to Thailand with her composer husband Raiomond Mirza, 55, Aidan collapsed on the flight home and was rushed to hospital where doctors diagnosed him with Type 1 diabetes.
Ever since, Aidan has needed to administer insulin seven to 11 times a day to prevent him from having a fatal hypoglycaemic attack, when blood glucose levels become too low.
Nina, pictured with son Aidan Mirza (right), said she used to hardly sleep worrying about her children (DAILY MIRROR)"For the first two years of his life, before we got a Dexcom G6, which sounds an alarm when Aidan's insulin levels drop, I never slept more than two hours a night and that was broken sleep," explains Nina, who appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2021.
"I'm quite an anxious person and fret about everyone's wellbeing, so when this happened to Aidan those worries reached new heights.
"I'd lie awake wondering if he would have an attack and go into his room every three hours to prick his finger and check his blood glucose levels."
Known as the "night owl" within her family, Nina, 54, says she developed a fear of the night as a child living in Mumbai. "At 3am, a security guy would walk up and down our lane banging his stick to prove he was on duty," she recalls. "As a child, this was a frightening sound."
Nina, pictured with husband Raiomond Mirza (left), has more recently tried to improve her sleep (Getty Images)
This has included changing her diet and exercising more (Getty Images)Do you enjoy reading about celebrities? Sign up for all the best celeb news from the Mirror .
Nina says although her work ethic meant sleep deprivation has never affected her career, she was keen to find a way to get more than her usual "four or five hours a night".
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"In my mid-30s, I began to fear I'd burn out so I went to my GP to get some help but he simply told me it was my make up, that some people have insomnia much worse and to be grateful for getting four or five hours, which was so dismissive.
"I feel ill when I don't sleep, so I decided to stop drinking caffeine.
"I'd also heard other actors talking about power naps. After waking early to be on set, they'd grab a 20 minute power nap in their Winnebago. When I first tried it, it felt like I'd slept for five hours," says Nina, who recently played Fate Mother in the Netflix adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Sandman.
Nina is best known for playing Zainab Masood on EastEnders (BBC)According to The Pharmaceutical Journal, up to half of us will experience insomnia at some point in our lives and as many as 16 million UK adults suffer from sleepless nights. There are health implications too.
A study by the University of Bristol linked insomnia to increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Research from the University of Cambridge also found people who are genetically predisposed to insomnia have a greater risk of heart failure, stroke and coronary artery disease.
Three years ago, aware of her "sky-high BMI levels" and realising being overweight is a risk factor for prediabetes, which can increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, Nina made some lifestyle changes.
No longer a "drive everywhere" person, she achieves 15,000 steps daily thanks to an hour and 45 minute morning walk with the family's Cockapoo, Basil, which she monitors on a Fitbit.
She also eats more vegetarian and pescatarian dinners and has lost two-and-a-half stone.
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She was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with Neil Jones (right), in 2021 (BBC)"I'm not sleeping for longer but I'm sleeping deeply because I'm physically tired," she says. "Now I exercise just so I can sleep more soundly and because I know I'm better at sleeping, I'm more relaxed about it, which helps."
She also uses her Fitbit's meditation features to ease her stress levels.
"I fall asleep listening to nature sounds, then the next thing I know, it's morning."
Nina is exploring other ways to improve her sleep, including a pillow spray, which "seems to help" and cooking with foods rich in magnesium, including fish, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, known as nature's tranquilliser.
"Over the past few years I've noticed real improvements – hopefully it's the start of better sleep to come," says Nina. "My sleep is a work in progress."
Nina has been working with Fitbit to raise awareness of how an active, healthy life can help reduce the risk of diabetes.
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