Ever lay in bed wishing you could fall asleep, but today’s
trials and tomorrow’s tribulations are just swirling about in your head keeping
you awake? Tossing, turning and even getting up for a cool glass of water don’t
seem to help; so how can you find a quiet place to fall asleep? Check out some
of the strategies below and find the peace you need to get some quality shut
eye.
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Need a little extra help calming your mind when your head
hits the pillow? Don’t count sheep! Instead, try Everyday Health’s[1]
tips below and get a good night’s rest.
If You Can’t Fall Asleep When Your Head Hits the Pillow, Here’s What to
Do
1. 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 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.
2. 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.”
3. 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. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
Calm your mind, sleep deep and elevate your confidence by following
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Works Cited:
1.
Asp, Karen. “How to Quiet a Racing Mind and Fall
Asleep, Tonight.” Everyday Health.
4 February 2019. <https://www.everydayhealth.com/sleep/how-put-racing-mind-bed-sleep-now/
>.
