Do you ever notice the sorts of thoughts you have just before going to sleep? They can say a lot about your mindset. The good news is that you can work with your pre-snooze stream of thought.
The twilight hours can bring up some strange thoughts – lying awake at night, some people come up with their most creative ideas, while others create scenarios in their heads about how everything is wrong and they will never succeed.
Persistent worries tend to show up at bedtime, but this is unfortunately at a time when it’s easy to dramatise and very difficult to do anything to solve your problems.
If you have a lot to do the next day, you may find that you start worrying or dreading a big event. The key to solving pre-sleep stressing is setting aside some time beforehand to ‘do’ your worrying in.
Setting A Worry Window Before Bedtime
It sounds strange, but putting aside 20 minutes in which you are ‘allowed’ to worry can help you have restful sleep later on. Be very intentional about it. Have a special place to go to “worry” and deliberately overthink as much as you can.
If you have an important event coming up, plan in it detail, taking into account all eventualities, so that the ‘What if’s don’t pop into your head later when you’re trying to sleep. Mentally rehearse how you will handle things.
When it’s duvet time, some people tend to mull over the day that has just passed, which is ok as long as you keep it positive and don’t agonise over what went wrong. Instead, congratulate yourself on the day’s triumphs and if anything went awry, think how you will do it better next time.
Brainwaves At Bedtime
Some of us are bedtime inventors and find that inspirational ideas seem to pop into our head just as we’re nodding off. As you start to fall asleep, your brainwaves slow, slipping from beta to alpha, then theta. The last two can promote creativity.
So take advantage of that brainwave state but don’t keep yourself from sleeping because of it. Keep a pad and pen next to the pillow so you can pop down any ideas. This will tell your brain you’ve acknowledged its ideas and it will more easily switch off.
Then go to sleep and look at your ideas in the morning – in the cold light of day, you’ll soon discover whether they were sparks of genius or brain dribble.
When Negative Thoughts Stop You Nodding Off
Some people find their moods catch up with them in the twilight hours – some may become sad. If this is you, think about your favourite things to fall asleep more easily.
If negative thoughts drift into your mind, acknowledge them and then just gently push them away. Something like “God my relationship isn’t great right now…. Ok, that’s interesting, but I’d prefer to think about ice-cream right now. Mmmm chocolate chip.”
Making a mental list of all the things you are grateful for right now can also cure a maudlin mood.
Other Sleep Tools
Relaxation practices can quiet your mind. Supplements such as L-tryptophan and magnesium can help. If you’re really struggling to sleep, I strongly recommend listening to Yoga Nidra. When I have been in extreme pain and struggling to sleep, Yoga Nidra has literally knocked me out.
I love Yoga Nidra so much that I recorded some of my own, which you can find on Insight Timer. Here’s a special Yoga Nidra for sleep. Or try my Progressive Relaxation Track. They are free to listen to!
If you have serious insomnia, regular nightmares, or hypervigilance that prevents you from sleeping, it is worth trying therapy to deal with the root cause of your sleep issues.
