I'm stressed out and when I try to go to sleep I can't shut off my thoughts. What should I do?
271 Answers
Last Updated: 02/21/2022 at 11:19am
★ This question about Sleeping Well was starred by a moderator on 5/12/2016.
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Top Rated Answers
Anonymous
August 13th, 2015 1:57pm
I have this same problem. Help please? I'm up an average of 2 nights a week till at least 2am, but it used to be almost every night, and now it's getting to that point again.
Anonymous
August 13th, 2015 5:30pm
Maybe just open your window and breathe a fresh air. Go to sleep with a fresh mind, fresh thoughts.
Have a nice warm bath an hour before you go to sleep. Stay away from any electronics devices. Try not to watch anything that will keep you up all night or that will stop you from falling asleep.
Anonymous
May 30th, 2015 12:32am
Usually what I do in this case, is literally stay up :p I use this as an opportunity to watch anime or play handhelds games that I'm a bit left behind with. Eventually, after a short while of playing/doing whatever it is your doing, you'll fall asleep as quick as sudden rain.
Anonymous
May 29th, 2015 9:43pm
You should try and find ways to relax yourself. Have a walk around the house, get a snack, read a book or take a quick shower. You could also do some exercise during the afternoon so that you are exhausted when you go to bed hence not worrying about your thoughts. Relaxation music and meditation also helps. Find a time during the day to give importance to your thoughts, sit down and have a time for yourself, a time to listen to every thought (introspection).
Try to wear yourself down before sleep. Either by exercise, chamomile tea, or doing something that consumes energy. Or try to rid yourself of the cause of the stress. Also, eating too close to bedtime can cause your body to keep going. Or, keep telling yourself to stop thinking about it for now and to get some rest. Although that sounds like it's easier said than done, just try to say it out loud to yourself. Talking yourself through things. I have personally found exercise to work the best, make yourself so tired that you just pass out (obviously in a healthy way.)
I have the same problem too, mostly when I am really stressed about something. Even though I tell myself that I should sleep and that there is nothing I can do right now and overthinking doesn't help, the thoughts keep coming. Every person is different but I find that ASMR videos helped my a lot. I also found that I sleep better when I turn off the computer early and read a book instead. Drinking something relaxing or taking a hot bath can also help, and in general trying to set a sleeping routine.
This is so common. Night time we often tend to worry and stress more. However, we can reduce the negativity and get a successful nights rest by doing a couple simple tools to ease the mind. Perhaps a bubble bath before bed for relaxation? Maybe read a book, meditate, watch something lighthearted on television. Anything that is soothing for the mind to help silence the flow of thoughts.
Anonymous
October 26th, 2015 7:01pm
For me, it helps to have a notebook and pen by my bed so that I can write down all my thoughts. This way, they are out of my head and written down so I can review this later.
I either count backwards from 100 or listen to music and focus on one part of it. The bass, the drums, the singer's voice. Sail by Awolnation is a good one because it has so much going on that trying to isolate one detail of it keeps you distracted from your thoughts. Lindsey Stirling is amazing to listen to as well, especially the songs moon trance and elements
best is to think about a wonderful experience you encountered and keep it there. sleep will follow shortly if you linger long enough.
Anonymous
December 12th, 2015 2:17pm
You should listen to some music. Not to think about that too much . Drink or eat something. Hope everything will be ok!
Anonymous
December 13th, 2015 2:33am
I think that the best thing to do would be to listen to calming music or trying some yoga. It worked for me very well :)
Anonymous
December 13th, 2015 10:50am
You should try and get the doctor to prescribe you with sleeping pills as they can really help you shut off your thought and make you sleep better
Anonymous
December 13th, 2015 5:12pm
Things that help me are hugging a teddy bear. Fighting the thoughts by saying in my head they are not relevant, writing down what I am thinking so it gets out of my head, and thinking about other things.
Try to calm your brain down. I listen to ASMR (lol). I don't know if it works for everyone, but I respond well to it. Meditating is another common technique, which is good for your brain in general and promotes neurogenesis. Also, maybe try to drain yourself during the day. I swim for an hour and a half at least twice a week and I feel dead after that and end up napping during the day, so maybe do a form of intensive exercise before going to bed. Exercise also promotes neurogenesis and is the best form of antidepressant. It also apparently combats some neurodegenerative disorders, so don't forget to do it if you want a healthy brain haha (I'm being serious).
Anonymous
January 14th, 2016 1:24am
try the technique of yoga nidra...
Try to picture yourself in a calming place. Gradually relax each part of your body, starting from your toes and working your way upwards. Perhaps try some quiet music or a white noise machine.
If your stress is really affecting you so much though, you may want to try and talk to someone about the actual reasons behind it. There's no point treating the symptoms while leaving the root cause.
Anonymous
January 20th, 2016 7:34pm
You could listen to some soft and soothing music and try to think of something or someone that makes you happy.
Reading a good book helps. =) In my opinion it really is nice to relax with a nice book with great story.
Anonymous
January 26th, 2016 1:16pm
have you tried writing your thoughts down, the things that are stressing you out? so you know you won't forget them, and can come back to them in the morning.
Sit up for a moment and close your eyes. Take a deep breath and try to let go of your thoughts. I often find opening a window and taking a breath of fresh air to help. Keep your eyes closed and keep taking deep breaths through your nose until you find yourself relaxing a little more. Sometimes it takes a little while longer than other times, but make sure to switch off any electrical devices, such as your laptop, and keep your phone away. Once you find yourself relaxing, your thoughts should ease, and hopefully you will feel less stressed.
Anonymous
January 29th, 2016 5:40am
have you tried meditation?
you can also try working out (exercising) - it makes you more tired at the end of the day
Anonymous
January 31st, 2016 2:43pm
You should count things in your head so that you focus on one thing only and it will put you to sleep
I try to focus on an idea or thought that makes me feel at peace. For example, I like to think about the ocean, the calm waters, the minnows darting in and out of the tide pools. Here, in my peaceful idea, no stress can come. When I feel calmer, I can usually then fall right asleep.
Anonymous
February 6th, 2016 5:14pm
Try acknowledging you have the thoughts but then let them pass through your mind without really looking at them. For example: It's late and I'm having a million different thoughts about what I have to do tomorrow; I take a deep breath and think; it's ok to have these thoughts, just let them go through my mind (like watching cars go past almost). I find that helps or counting sheep. It won't send you to sleep immediately but allows your mind to start to settle so you can eventually rest.
Listening to music or breathing the outside are can typically help someone shut off their thoughts, but A way to kind of force manual shutdown is to focus purely on your breathing. Not exactly doing breathing exercises, but it's too difficult to think and manually breath at the same time, so there you go.
Anonymous
February 11th, 2016 3:09pm
You have to control your mind that the simple solution .... i know its hard but there is many technique though but my advice u should control your mind by yourself ......but again its not that easy so first try with meditation its the ultimate technique .
I really do recommend something that involves listening to something. Preferably something you find relaxing for example, a guided meditation, rain, the ocean or just music you really enjoy. Doing things causes you to focus on the music and you aren't in such a deep state of thought.
Stress is something all of us deal with in our lives. As a student of the sciences I'm often stressed out due to projects and research work. I've found that laying in the dark and performing deep breathing exercises for a few minutes helps a lot. Additionally, cut off caffeine consumption at night and refrain from using your phones/laptops/tablets etc for at least 20 mins before sleeping.
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