Can’t put that racing mind to bed? Whether it’s stopping you from quickly falling asleep or staying asleep, there’s no question an unsettled mind can be a major obstacle to slumber. “It’s one of the most common problems we hear in our sleep clinic, especially among people struggling with insomnia,” says Lawrence Chan, DO, clinical assistant professor of sleep medicine at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus.
If you’re ruminating so much when you first go to bed that you can’t fall asleep, blame the day’s craziness. Whether you’re exploring a new city or plugging away at your to-do list in the familiar surroundings of your home or office, your brain is collecting new information all day long, explains Michael Breus, PhD, a clinical psychologist who specializes in sleep disorders based in Manhattan Beach, California, and author of The Power of When, a book on understanding your body clock and circadian rhythms. “Not until you climb into bed do you have any quiet time, and all of that information, including your worries, comes flying through the door.”
If you tend to wake up in the middle of the night and a racing mind won’t let you get back to sleep, it may mean that something is bothering you more than you’d care to otherwise admit or address, Dr. Breus says. “It’s generally a sign that something stressful is going on in life.”
It’s worth stating that everyone has trouble sleeping from time to time. That’s where the following strategies come in. These tips can help you quiet that racing mind before it becomes a habit too intense to stop on your own.
If restless nights do become the norm, tell your doctor. If you’re experiencing symptoms of insomnia there are ways your doctor or a sleep specialist can help.
If You Can’t Fall Asleep When Your Head Hits the Pillow, Here’s What to Do
Ditch the Devices
Sleep doctors have been telling you for years to stop using smartphones, laptops, and tablets right before bed — and for good reason. Not only does the light from electronic screens mess up your melatonin production — which makes sleep physiologically harder to achieve — it also can also heighten anxiety and stress, especially if you’ve just received stressful news via email or social media. It makes the cycle of ruminating about bothersome or unpleasant news worse, Dr. Chan says.
Plus, the apps, websites, and news you’re consuming on such devices are meant (in large part) to keep you (and your brain) engaged, he adds. “The internet is designed to capture attention so that you spend more eye time on screens, which can be a detriment to sleep.”
To protect your shut-eye, switch off devices one to two hours, or 30 minutes at a minimum, before bed.
Schedule Worry Time
Just as you schedule time to see friends or get a massage, do the same with your worries. Schedule a consistent time every day (about 15 to 30 minutes), at least one to two hours before bed, to write down those worries on paper. In addition to writing down what’s worry you, create at least one action item you can do to help deal with the issue. Thinking through those potential stressors earlier in the day should help ease how much you worry about those things when you head hits the pillow, Chan says. “Ideal sleep depends on creating routines and schedules, and this is no different.”
Create a Routine to Power Down Your Brain
Most people assume that sleep is like breathing — your body will just do it. Not true. Modern-day living has created so much stimulation in the day that brains now operate at warp speed, and if you don’t give them time to rest, they’ll continue going at that speed at bedtime, says David Brodner, MD, founder and principle physician at the Center for Sinus, Allergy, and Sleep Wellness in Boynton Beach, Florida.
At least 30 minutes before you go to bed, start your pre-bed preparations and then do something relaxing, like listening to music or reading. Keep it consistent, and you’ll train your body to expect sleep after that relaxation period.
Keep a Gratitude List
Now that you’ve dumped your worries, replace the void where those negative thoughts once lived with positive ones by starting a gratitude journal, Breus suggests. The impact of those positive thoughts is greater when you write them down. So try spending a few minutes each night listing three to five things you’re grateful for.
Practice 4-7-8 Breathing
You’ve heard about deep breathing for stress, but there’s a good reason it’s so effective for sleep. In order to get to sleep, your heart rate needs to slow down, Breus says. And breathing techniques are one of the most effective ways to achieve this goal.
One of Breus’s favorites is 4-7-8 breathing: Inhale for a count of four, hold for seven counts, and then blow out for eight counts. Do this at least five to seven times, and your heart rate will slow way down.
Do Progressive Muscle Relaxation
As you lie in bed, tense and relax all of your muscles one by one, starting at your toes and ending at your head. Not only is this incredibly relaxing, as the name implies, it also forces you to think about the physical parts of your body, directing your attention away from whatever thoughts or stressors you’re ruminating about, Breus says.
Maintain a Consistent Sleep Schedule
This is one of the pillars of sleep hygiene, those guidelines sleep docs recommend for ensuring a good night’s sleep. It helps the mind, too. “If you try to go to bed early when your brain’s not ready to sleep, it will focus on other things, making you aroused,” Breus says.
If You Wake Up in the Middle of the Night and Can’t Fall Back Asleep, Here’s What to Do
Get Out of Bed
As counterintuitive as it seems, climbing out of bed after about 20 minutes of worrying is the tried-and-true advice sleep doctors tell everyone they help (and one of the hallmark steps of therapy for insomnia). If you spend time worrying in bed, your brain will begin to associate bed with worry and not being able to sleep, Chan says. You create a vicious cycle for yourself whereby your bed increasingly becomes a space where it is difficult for you to sleep.
Instead, get out of bed and do something calming, like reading a book, doing light chores, or journaling. As soon as you start getting sleepy, head to bed. “The goal is to increase your sleep efficiency, meaning that when you’re in bed, you’re sleeping,” Chan says.
Slow That Heart Rate
You may have used the 4-6-7 breathing or deep muscle relaxation before bed. Now try them again, as your goal is not only to lower that heart rate but also take your mind away from your thoughts, Breus says.
Write Down Your Worries
Keep a notepad by your bed and scribble down worries that are top of mind, Dr. Brodner says. This isn’t the same as pre-bed structured worry time, as you’re not creating solutions to your worries. You’re just getting them out of your head so your mind can rest.
Power Up the TV
Bet you’ve never heard this advice before. That’s because Breus may be the only sleep doc in the world who gives patients permission to watch TV if racing thoughts are keeping them up. A show you enjoy can get your mind off whatever is bothering you and potentially help you relax. (Note though that most sleep guidelines recommend against TV at night, including advice from the National Sleep Foundation — so if it’s not helping you sleep more, skip it.)
What about that blue light that TVs emit that messes with your melatonin production? “Although TVs do emit blue light, that TV is so far away that you’re not getting as much blue light as you think,” he says (or as much as other devices, like a smartphone or tablet, might give off). Besides, most people aren’t actually watching TV as much as they’re listening to it with their eyes closed, and blue light can’t penetrate closed eyelids.
Karen Asp
JAN