Stop worrying and get sleepy
Insomnia
can arise from several causes. However, worrying is one of the most frequent
reasons people suffer from chronic sleep loss. If your mind boosts into
overdrive when your head hits the pillow, conjuring mountains from molehills, no
wonder you have difficulty getting to sleep.
Here’s
how to stop anxiety stealing shuteye. First, though, you’re more likely to
rewire your brain for sleep if you recognize why it’s currently wired for
insomnia.
Repetition
creates neural pathways
Repeated
behaviors, such as worrying at night, turn into habits. Your brain is wired for
insomnia if you’ve spent numerous nights wide awake, fretting about problems.
Just as it takes time to generate neural pathways in the brain via repetition,
it takes a while to override old tracks and create new, preferable ones.
The
following tips can help you get to sleep, but they might not work instantly.
Instead, be patient and carry them out until they are habitual. Once you’ve
forged fresh neural connections, it will be easier to sleep every night.
It’s
hard to sleep when you aren’t relaxed. It is hard to relax when you are anxious
about falling asleep. It can take a while to break out of this negative spiral.
Create a routine to help you relax
Anxiety
increases when you go to bed because you expect to stay awake. After all,
that’s what usually happens. So, as stress keeps you alert when you want to
sleep, you don’t want to stimulate angst.
Follow
a routine to teach your mind and body to relax when bedtime’s close rather than
increase stress and endure insomnia. Carrying out similar habits each night
will put you in the mood to shut down your busy mind and rest.
Your
routine might include using calming lavender essential oil in a hot bath an
hour before bed and then settling down to read. Or, you might prefer to listen
to soothing music, write in a journal, or do something else relaxing before
turning in for the night.
Reduce
expectations
If
you expect to encounter insomnia, your anxiety will grow. People who find it
hard to sleep often tell themselves they must fall asleep instantly when they
go to bed, imagining they can force the issue. But doing so creates resistance
and strain.
Rather
than put pressure on yourself to sleep, imagine you are going to rest and enjoy
peaceful thoughts. Your change of attitude will help to override old neural
paths in your brain and make way for the new habit of sleeping.
Calm your
worries
When
stress rises as you try to sleep, recall there’s never a sane reason to worry.
Going over problems isn’t logical and won’t help.
Bear
in mind difficulties fall into one of two categories:
You
have the power to alter problems and make positive changes.
You
can’t do anything about the challenges you face.
Consequently,
you can modify the cause of angst and eliminate the difficulty. Or accept that
you can’t make changes and must accept the situation. Either way, you have no
reason for anxiety.
Slow your
thoughts
Calm
your system ready for sleep further with a gentle, mindful exercise. When in
bed, let thoughts appear and acknowledge them. When you note them, imagine they
shrink, float away, or disappear. Use your mind to picture their insignificance
fading.
Initially,
the exercise might not be easy, but practice, and you’ll see positive results.
The same goes if thoughts flow as self-talk. Reduce their volume or change them
to make them funny; concerns aired as a squeaky cartoon character voice, for
instance, will lose their importance and disappear.
Focus on your
body
Next,
concentrate on physical experience rather than mental noise. Think about your
body, starting at your feet, and imagine your muscles relaxing. Work slowly up
to the crown of your head while also following your breath. There’ll be no room
for worries to stream, and you’ll become sleepy.
Worrying
can keep you awake and steal much-needed shuteye. Note the suggestions
mentioned in the order provided, and you will rewire your brain to help you
sleep well.