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??

[NellyG]

I am using an App called Headspace. It is guided meditations and I find it very helpful. I havent had a difficult time going to sleep since I started with it. Early days yet as it has only been about three weeks but I am impressed as 'normally' it takes me one to two hours to go to sleep with about one night a fortnight where I am seriously sleep deprived.

[Kimboo1963]

Mine races either trying to get to sleep or I sleep and wake at 4-5 hours and the racing starts.  I sometimes mentally try to name every bird I know of, tree, etc.  It seems to help as it keeps my mind occupied off the racing thoughts but occupied.

[Labyrinth]

Hi Nelly and fellow Aus 🙂 thanks for the tip of the app. headspace will try it 

[NellyG]

@Labyrinth Hi there! Whereabouts in Aus are you? I am finding Headspace really good. There are 10 free sessions and then you can join up (and pay of course) if you want to. But you can keep the ten free ones anyway. I have joined as it seems to suit me (and I love the sound of the guys voice!)

[Labyrinth]

Hi Nelly , good to hear from you. I live on the Sunshinecoast in Qld . Thank you for the info on headspace will give it a go 🙂 

[NeracK]

Have been a nightshift worker for 20 yrs. The counting backwards from 100 works well. You think the number on a inhalation of a breath & you have to subconsciously think of the next number as you exhale. If that doesn't work by the time you get to zero, then use reverse psychology. Say in your mind slowly - relax & stay awake, over & over in your head. And you will fall asleep before you know it. If that doesn't work, get up & make a drink of hot chocolate, & read a book till your eyes get droopy or you find yourself reading the same sentence over & over again.

[NeracK]

Have been a nightshift worker for 20 yrs. The counting backwards from 100 works well. You think the number on a inhalation of a breath & you have to subconsciously think of the next number as you exhale. If that doesn't work by the time you get to zero, then use reverse psychology. Say in your mind slowly - relax & stay awake, over & over in your head. And you will fall asleep before you know it. If that doesn't work, get up & make a drink of hot chocolate, & read a book till your eyes get droopy or you find yourself reading the same sentence over & over again.

[Rashboots]

I've found that taking a magnesium supplement 1hr before bed helps me relax and kills any anxiety I get which causes my mind to race!

[fitbabe777]

I can totally identify with this problem of waking in the middle of the night and not being able to fall back to sleep.  I often wake up in the morning totally exhausted as though I had been in a fight all night! 😞  Anyway, I went to a sleep doc who suggested I try CBTI (Cognitive Behavior for Insomnia).  he said it is the gold standard for sleeping better.  He said I could go to a therapist who specializes in this or I could start with an online course.  Two were suggested as being highly reliable:  Sleepio and SHUTi.  I decided to go with the SHUTi and am in my third week.  The cool thing about this program is that you can allow them access to your FitBit (I have the Charge 2) which gives them info to tailor the program to your specific needs.  I'm learning a lot about my own sleep issues through this program and highly suggest it to anyone suffering with any kind of insomnia! 

[BethAlphin]

When I have troiuble turning off problems, I start thanking God for all the things I have to be thankful for instead of what's bothering me. I usually fall asleep very quickly - always before I run out of things.

[bjstring]

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@BethAlphin wrote:

When I have trouble turning off problems, I start thanking God for all the things I have to be thankful for instead of what's bothering me. I usually fall asleep very quickly - always before I run out of things.

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I do that, too.

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[Awesomewalks100]

If you have the charge 2 follow  my instructions.

1. Turn on your tracker or raise you wrist (raising your wrist requires Quick View on)

2. Click the button until you see Relax

3. Tap the bottom of the screen to choose 2 minutes or 5 minutes 

4. Hold down the button until you see this message "Detecting your breathing rate..." and it should vibrate

5. On the top of the screen if you see a heart with a circle the session is started. Follow the instructions under the heart.

6. If you see sparkles your doing good, the more the better.

7. When it's done it will vibrate and you should see a congratulatory message.

For better instructions see this video. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PL_xLGCqFuhiFdIf9MW8oJ7tkoAW78HmPt&params=EAEYATgBSAFYBWILcXBrSmRJZ...

[Duquie]

I too suffer from sleeping disorder. i cant sleep at all alot of times and everyday i sleep almost 5 hours.

unfortunately I have suffered from this all my life but, i found my solution for falling a sleep.

I read in bed and I pray and talk to Jehova god in my head. I find my self falling a sleep better and faster when I do this. hope we all get some shut eye....    

[UrsJ]

I don't have a problem going to sleep but when I wake in the night I start worrying and thinking about all sorts of irrelevant thoughts. I've found doing puzzles help - something  like Suduko which concentrates your brain and takes your mind off stuff. rather than crossword types because you are not left thinking about the answers once you try to get back to sleep again.

[SantiR]

I tried something that worked like a charm!

I went to Youtube and typed down "Ambient Space Music" and selected the first playlist that appeared. Then, a very chill music from "outer space" started playing. It's was so relaxing! Just closed my eyes and started to think that I was on a trip to another planet, just floating on the beautiful universe full of colors. All of a sudden I just woke up, having an excellent night of sleep!

[KmMD]

I think about what I am going to wear the next day and visualize new outfits. This helps to distract my mind. I may also think about what I will make for lunch and dinner for the next day, as long as I am not hungry when I go to bed 🙂

[jerrybo]

I have the same racing mind problem, I get to sleep, waking up 3to4 hours later, can't go back to sleep, but I'm not moving, just laying there, fitbit says I'm sleeping, but I'm not, I don't think fitbit logic of monitoring sleep by movement makes any sense. And, if your not moving just laying there your heart rate cannot be a accurate measurement, since your are not active. just laying there.

[Eurptrvlr]

My Dr Suggested a chewable supplement called l-theanine. Its a natural amino acid complex that relaxes the mind to allow you to fall asleep.  It also helps with anxiety and best of all -no side affects.

[Rifffffy]

Another strategy is to introduce some maths into the counting. Variations of "add 3 then add 4" or "subtract 2 then add 7" can make it easier to focus on something other than random thoughts. It's not as easy as it seems in the middle of the night! Especially when you pick a random number to start doing your sums! 

[bjstring]

I've had trouble getting to sleep for as long as I can remember - even as a
child. When I was a child, I used to go over my spelling (my favorite
subject!) words in my mind till sleep came.