Racing mind at night

[Emamino88]

Anyone have occasional restless nights when you're trying to fall asleep? What tips and tricks do you use to "clear" your mind??

[kemley12]

@GolfingGrandma love this!

[DanielleinDC]

My mind races like crazy most times. I try counting as well. I'll try to count by threes and concentrate on that until I hit 300 and then try over again. 

I also use aromatherapy oils to calm me. Focusing on my breathing also helps me relax into sleep.

[Esya]

For me it depends if it is just a racing mind or if my breathing is also rather fast. If the breathing is also rather fast I start by calming my body down first with beathing exercises. Once my body is more calm, I calm my mind by going into child's pose (yoga). This pose is very easy and can easily be done in the comfort of your bed, and is very good for relaxing. It is hard to calm your mind when your body is not calm. Last time when I woke up in the middle of the night with anxiety this combination helped me to go back to sleep.

[SantiR]

I was thinking about this topic again and just realized that the Fitbit Charge 2 includes the "Guided Breathing Sessions" feature that helps you calm down. It is a great way to relax because it is based on your real-time heart rate.

I haven't tried it yet as I don't have a Charge 2, but I think this could help to relax before going to bed to get some good sleep. 

If there are any Charge 2 users here... have you tried this already? Does it work? 

[Esya]

---

@SantiR wrote:

I was thinking about this topic again and just realized that the Fitbit Charge 2 includes the "Guided Breathing Sessions" feature that helps you calm down. It is a great way to relax because it is based on your real-time heart rate.

I haven't tried it yet as I don't have a Charge 2, but I think this could help to relax before going to bed to get some good sleep. 

If there are any Charge 2 users here... have you tried this already? Does it work? 

---

I have tried it only twice so far, but not in order to calm myself down for sleep. I feel the screen of the Charge 2 is too bright and too blue to use before bed. I also disabled the quickview so it does not shine bright during the night. I prefer to do the counting of my breath in my mind as I learned in yoga class. But I think it is a great tool for guidance for those who have less experience with that.

The two times I did use it during the day it did help me to calm down. It is also good to calm down your body after exercise.

[SantiR]

@Esya Awesome! Thanks for replying and for sharing your experience with this feature. The display is pretty bright, right? Check this feature suggestion, it is asking for a "night mode" for the Charge 2. I already voted! 

That is actually a great idea! You can do it in your mind as you already know how to do it thanks to yoga classes. New users could use this feature until they get used to this kind of relaxing breathing and then can do it in their minds once they go to bed. Pretty good! 

I think the main purpose of that feature is to calm yourself down after exercise, just as you said! I think I will get a Charge 2, it is a very complete tracker.

Thanks again for sharing your experience with us! 

[Labyrinth]

Hi Esya , 

yes like you I keep coming back to this topic and although I am a calm person I do have racing thoughts at night at times.

I have used the guided breathing sessions mainly during the day which has been helpful. But will try it tonight before going to bed. 🙂

[DramaQueenDiva]

Studies have shown that people who think about the events of what happened that day or about things that need to get done have a lot of trouble sleeping.  Try keeping a notepad near you so that when something pops into your head that you need to do, you can write it down.  Studies have also proven that by doing this, the thought is no longer in your head, making it easier to fall asleep.

[NellyG]

That is a good idea for me. I frequently have trouble going to sleep because I am rerunning today or planning tomorrow. 

[bjstring]

I have been an insomniac as long as I can remember! I have tried LOTS of things to be able to get to sleep at a decent hour; my latest "try" is singing in my head. My family sings gospel and bluegrass, so last night I started "singing the alphabet" - mostly hymns and spiritual songs. I got about halfway through the alphabet before falling asleep. Unfortunately my fitbit shows that I was awake and restless many times, so out of the 7 hours I was in bed it showed 6 hours and a few minutes of sleep. This is about average; occasionally I get 7 hours or so of sleep (my goal), but many times I get only 3 or 4.

[bjstring]

Several years ago, I went to a ladies meeting where the speaker talked about this problem of thinking about what all we need to accomplish the next day, afraid we might forget something and she said to write down our "to do list" and put it on the dresser and "let the dresser remember it!" and then forget it and go to sleep! Good advice!

[ClaudineAlta]

I listen to a podcast called Sleep With Me. The host tells purposefully boring stories in a calm voice to put you to sleep. I set my phone to turn off the podcast after 15 minutes (I've never heard it turn off, so it must be working). Sometimes I'll look for a podcast about something that doesn't interest me, like cars. I find that it's enough to keep my mind engaged so I don't think about work or money or politics or existential despair, but not so much that it keeps me awake and listening. There are several quilting podcasts that put me to sleep nearly immediately, and I even love quilting. 

The feature where you can set your phone to turn off and not play all night is key.

Good luck!

[jerunamuck]

Reading. Absolutely worked for me. 

Go to bed a little early and read about 30 minutes of some lite fiction. Always leave of at a chapter end even if it takes a little longer or shorter. That way you can pick it up easily the next night.

Another thing I find helpful is an electric blanket in Winter. Turn it on 30 min before bed time then turn it off when you get in bed. The result is a nice warm bed to help you relax physically.

[shotgun233]

I can only share with the group what works for me. Mindful meditation. I do a 10 to 15 minute meditation before bed. Sometimes, when I am just too sleepy to take the time to meditate, I skip it and just get in bed.  Then sometimes, I wake up at 1 – 3 am  in the morning with my mind running like a washing machine, going around and around. I get up, sit in a chair and meditate for 5 to 10 minutes and back to bed. I quickly fall back asleep and I usually get a deep and restful sleep after this meditation. There is tons of info on the Internet on mindful meditation. Sleep is only one of a multitude of benefits. BTW, my Internist recommended meditation to rather than prescription medication for sleep.  I have been meditation for about 3 years now, and it has help me in many ways.  

[Esya]

@shotgun233

What a great internist you got there! I wish more doctors were about preventive measures like that instead of looking at medication so quickly.

[NellyG]

I have just started trying meditation before bed to try and quiet my racing mind. So far I would say the results have been encouraging though I havent been doing it long enough to say it has cured me yet!

[bjstring]

I read before bed, too. Sometimes it works and sometims I get wrapped up in the story and it doesn't. My dr. told me not to do anything stimulating, like tv or computers, within an hour of bedtime, but sometimes I walk on the treadmill. Sometimes it helps and sometimes not. (I think I have Sometimers - lol). It *does* however help my legs not to be restless - sometimes! I  haven't found anything that *always* works.  😞

[SantiR]

Hey guys! I was checking the Fitbit blog and found this blog that will certainly help you all on getting good sleep! It includes everything regarding sleep, very interesting and informative! Even this section that is giving 8 tips for getting a good nights sleep! I'm sure this will help you all!

Check it out and let me know what you think! 

[georgetnez]

Yes! I do face this problem often and I take my book and I will be asleep in no time.

[road_runner321]

There's a podcast called Sleep With Me. The host tells long, rambling stories to help distract listeners from their own thoughts as they try to fall asleep.