When you are overthinking it can be quite difficult to fall asleep. Your thoughts keep you awake and that only makes you more anxious. Do you ever lose sleep overthinking things? Then do one of these three things.
Write down what’s bothering you
If you’re overthinking, something is probably bothering you. You can’t do anything with it right now, it’s already late after all. So the only thing you can do now is try to let it go. This is of course easier said than done. A good way to let it go for now is to write it down. Then read it again the next morning and then actively work on a solution. Try to make peace with the fact that you can’t change anything now. If you are rested tomorrow you can do something with it again.
Count the things you are grateful for instead of sheep
A good way to distract yourself from overthinking is to count your blessings. Summarize for yourself everything you are grateful for in life. This could be anything. Think of your friends, family, partner, pet, education, career, the roof over your head and so on. You can also make it nice and niche. Think about being grateful for the existence of your favorite song or your favorite flavor of ice cream. This way you will undoubtedly fall asleep in no time. You relax for a while and go to sleep with a positive feeling.
Try ‘cognitive shuffling’ as a mindfulness exercise
Another way to distract your brain is to make your brain work. For example, count backwards from 100 to zero. You can also do a body scan. This means that you go to each body part and focus on how it feels for each body part. For example, do you feel the fabric of your bedding against you on your leg, or your pajama pants. A cognitive shuffle is also a useful method. This means that you start thinking of random words that are completely unrelated. Football, dress, pizza, and so on. By putting your brain to work, you distract yourself and naturally become tired. This way you will be in dreamland in no time and leave the overthinking behind you.
