Quiet Your Busy Brain Before Bed - Deepstash
Quiet Your Busy Brain Before Bed

Quiet Your Busy Brain Before Bed

Curated from: webmd.com

Ideas, facts & insights covering these topics:

10 ideas

·

12.9K reads

60

2

Explore the World's Best Ideas

Join today and uncover 100+ curated journeys from 50+ topics. Unlock access to our mobile app with extensive features.

Not Sleepy? Stay Up

Not Sleepy? Stay Up

While it’s a good idea to go to bed at the same time each night, there will be some nights when your brain is buzzing and not ready for sleep. If so, don’t lie down just yet.

Your racing thoughts could lead to insomnia. Instead, do something to relax until you feel tired. Take a warm bath, for instance, or sit in a comfy chair and listen to soft, calming music. You’ll spend less time in bed but more time asleep.

102

1.8K reads

Put Off Paying the Bills

Put Off Paying the Bills

  • Stressful subjects, like work or your finances, can make your thoughts churn. Take care of the bills and emails tomorrow.
  • Also, turn off scary or action-filled movies and TV -- even the news. Log out of social media, too.
  • Whether you engage in, or just watch or read a heated back-and-forth, your mind revs up and makes it harder to relax.

78

1.7K reads

Make a To-Do List

Make a To-Do List

Work projects to finish, calls to make, kids to wrangle. It’s hard to drift off when you’re trying to remember every last thing you need to do when you wake up.

Let go of this mental load by putting it down on paper. Take 5 minutes before bed to jot down every task you need to take care of in the a.m. You’ll get it off your mind and be able to fall asleep faster.

101

1.44K reads

Let Your Muscles Fully Relax

Let Your Muscles Fully Relax

Release tension from your body, and you’ll find it easier to let go of stressful thoughts.

  • Lie on a flat surface and allow your body to go limp.
  • Take a breath and deeply exhale.
  • Then, squeeze and release one section of your body at a time. Start with your toes. Your heels can come next, followed by your knees, thighs, belly, and so forth. Let your forehead be last.
  • Notice how relaxed your body feels.

114

1.4K reads

For A Good Night, Slow Your Breath, Slow Your Mind

For A Good Night, Slow Your Breath, Slow Your Mind

  • Place a hand on your heart and feel its rhythm.
  • Breathe in deep for 4 seconds, then take a long, slow breath out.
  • Repeat this pattern until you can feel your heartbeat slow down. Your thoughts should soon ease up as well.

96

1.35K reads

Make Your Bedroom a No-Screen Zone

Make Your Bedroom a No-Screen Zone

Your phone, tablet, and other screens can mess with your sleep because they give off blue light, which signals your body to stop making melatonin, the hormone that controls when you feel sleepy.

Instead, this light tells your brain to stay alert. Not to mention the late-night dings and buzzes that can jolt you out of peaceful slumber. The best bet for better sleep is to keep computers, TVs, and, yes, your phone out of your bedroom.

75

1.09K reads

Meditation For A Good Night

Meditation For A Good Night

Learn to calm your mind on demand, and you’ll find it easier to drift off at night.

If you’re new to meditation practice, it helps to find a point of focus. It could be the sound of your breath or a simple phrase that you repeat in your head, like “I am at peace.”

At first, you may struggle to tune out your thoughts. It’s OK to stop after a minute or two -- but try again the next night. Over time, you’ll be able to meditate longer.

82

1.02K reads

Call Out Your Worries

Call Out Your Worries

If they’re stuck inside your mind, worries and “What ifs?” can grow unchecked. Say them out loud, and they might just vanish.

Try this: Start to recite the letters of the alphabet in your head. When you get a few letters in, say something out loud. Notice that your ABCs came to a halt? That’s what can happen when you give voice to your worries.

82

1.1K reads

Channel Your Inner Yogi

Channel Your Inner Yogi

Many people say yoga helps them sleep better. Try “child’s pose” at bedtime.

  • Kneel on the floor with your big toes together.
  • Separate your knees the width of your hips, and sink your chest to your thighs.
  • Let your forehead touch the ground.
  • Have hip or knee issues? Try “corpse pose” instead. Lie on your back, legs apart and arms relaxed at your sides.
  • Exhale and feel yourself sink into the ground.
  • Stay in either pose for 3-5 minutes.

81

964 reads

Go Ahead and Worry

Go Ahead and Worry

You won’t be able to get rid of all your worries for good. In fact, the more you tell yourself not to stress, the more you probably will.

What can help is to schedule a “worry time” during your day. Choose a small window of time to sit quietly. Let yourself go over all the things that have you concerned, as well as some ways you might solve them. You may find that this allows you to worry less -- and sleep better.

96

1.06K reads

IDEAS CURATED BY

pipge

Total food specialist. Friendly webaholic. Coffee fan. Proud analyst. Tv expert. Explorer. Travel nerd. Incurable beer advocate.

CURATOR'S NOTE

Tips for a good night: Learn how to slow your thoughts so you can finally get some rest.

Piper E.'s ideas are part of this journey:

How To Have a Good Night

Learn more about health with this collection

Improving sleep through mindful breathing exercises

Practicing stress reduction and relaxation techniques

Establishing a relaxing bedtime routine

Related collections

Read & Learn

20x Faster

without
deepstash

with
deepstash

with

deepstash

Personalized microlearning

100+ Learning Journeys

Access to 200,000+ ideas

Access to the mobile app

Unlimited idea saving

Unlimited history

Unlimited listening to ideas

Downloading & offline access

Supercharge your mind with one idea per day

Enter your email and spend 1 minute every day to learn something new.

Email

I agree to receive email updates