How to Stop Overthinking Turning into Sleepless Nights

Being an overthinker means that you never leave a thought alone. You keep digging the thought to such an extent that you may not find the end but spend all your time doing so. An even worse problem appears when you want to sleep at night.

Simply put, overthinking can turn into sleepless night without any kind of actions from your side.

Just think about it. How many nights have you spent thinking about something, only to realize that you have only a few hours left to sleep and go to work thereafter? Well, you can relieve, knowing that you are not the only one.

However, Richard from Inside Bedroom, a space where people talk passionately about sleep, sleep disorders, bedding and more, have some tips that can help you though. Consider this as a small guide, which will help you to keep overthinking at bay and enjoy peaceful sleep.

#1 Getting Out of Bed Helps

The first and foremost thing you should do is preventing your mind from creating a correlation between your sleep and overthinking. This is easier than you think. If you cannot sleep because you are thinking too much, you should try to get out of the bed. Depending on the person you are, you can choose from many ways to distract yourself.

Some experts suggest that you try to create a list of thoughts that keep you awake. Here, the idea is to create a form of catharsis. This catharsis will help you gather peace mind and probably go back to sleep once you are back in the bed. This helps you in two ways. First, you may end up pausing your habit of overthinking, at least temporarily. Second, you never correlate sleep with overthinking.

At the same time, there are times when you have to go back to sleep. Sleep therapists have observed that a lot of people who go back to bed and try breathing did notice some changes in the pattern for long term.

#2 Meditation to Clean Your Mind

There have been multiple studies that clearly show how meditation helps us to clear our thoughts. Yeah, you guessed that right. When you have a clear mind, you can prevent the same from overthinking stuff that you probably want to stay away from. This is why experts recommend meditating for a small period before you go to sleep. 10 minutes is considered the ideal time here.

Unlike the old days, technology can help you meditate well and clearly. For instance, you can use a number of meditation and focus apps you can find for your smartphone devices. You may also want to get a powerful headphone if you cannot find the most serene environment inside your bedroom. That having said, if you’d be able to, make sure that you have a good bedroom environment in the first place.

Once again, if you suffer from overthinking a lot, you may want to start building a habit in the first place. Via this habit, you can create a routine where the meditation becomes the natural precedent of falling asleep.

#3 Writing and Planning

There is a concept in humanities called subversion, which refers to changing the manifestation of something that is important. Going along the same lines, you can actually get rid of overthinking issues by turning it into something rather productive and something you can focus on. This is also where the power of writing and a physical task comes in.

The idea here is simple. If you are feeling restless and want to overthink and overthink, you have to convert those thoughts into a piece of writing. You can do this without leaving your bed as well. Similarly, when you write, don’t put the words as they appear in your head. Instead, convert them into plans that you want to do in the future.

This can help you in two ways as well. First, the process gives a kind of end for the thoughts that are currently disturbing you. Second, you may end up having a good plan for a future, if you do it on a regular basis.

The Takeaways

As we both know, overthinking isn’t something that you can avoid overnight. In most cases, that becomes a part of one’s personality. Considering that, you have to follow the steps mentioned above in a timely as well as gradual manner. At the end of the day, we are trying to create healthy sleeping habits.

Besides, keep in mind that you have to make complementary changes in your lifestyle. For instance, if you’re someone who takes caffeine after evening, your head would have that extra energy to spend on overthinking stuff that you probably don’t want.

Come on, folks. If you have been trying to get better sleep for a while, you know the negative points before you even see them. Just keep them in mind and stay away and it’s easier than ever.