I'm a somatic coach I help people use mind-body techniques to heal from chronic pain and/or overcome anxiety. Insomnia is not infrequent among these folks. It's pretty rare that people tune into the subtleties of their physical experience, the physical sensations in their body, and listen to the language of their body. Doing so has tremendous benefits. Similar to what people have said about not distracting themselves throughout the day, giving space for thoughts, I would say the same is helpful (necessary!) for noticing what is happening with our energy, what is happening in our bodies. Something I do at night and recommend to others is to just sit and notice what you feel in your body. Oftentimes I will feel somewhat bored, and have an itch to do another task, stimulate myself in some way. Maybe there's a rising feeling in my legs, maybe there are tingles in my hands and feet, maybe there are subtle waves of energy (all cues from my body to DO SOMETHING!). After a time, maybe 5-10 minutes, I can feel a shift, my parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) kicks in, things settle down, I feel the weight of my body, muscles relax, I feel much more prepared for sleep. I'm happy to answer any questions you have or talk more about it if you'd like to send a DM
I struggled with the same type of thoughts/mind restlessness/'fired up brain' as you for a long time and it would take hours to get to sleep. What changed things for me a few years ago is that I realised my thoughts were going to my to do list, planning, etc, because I didn't have space to think about those things in the day. I was rushing everywhere, and using podcasts, music or Youtube to keep my mind busy and distracted during 'down time' such as my commute, cooking, or when I was having a bath. This meant my mind had no time to go through all the logistics of the next day, little problems during the current day or longer term planning, and the only time available was right before I tried to fall asleep. So that's when my mind fired up as it would finally have the space! I'd argue that changing this had a much bigger impact than reading a book before bed, or drinking chamomile tea. Now I try and distract myself very little in the day, especially if I have things to think about - for example if I am in a waiting room, I use the wait time to plan my grocery list or timeline of the next day, rather than go on Youtube or listen to a podcast. During my 30 mins walk to work, I go through anything that's on my mind rather than a podcast. It helps sooo much as when I go to bed all my problems are 'solved' and I've already directed my mind towards them earlier on. Sharing this in case it helps, and good luck with fixing your sleep - I'm looking forward to reading your update.
Oh totally. This is such a good point!! I wonder if by already dropping my phone time so much before this it will be inherently easier to transition into sleeping on my own because my brain isn't so cluttered.
Just wanted to add that I absolutely identify with this too! When my mind is racing at bedtime it's because I've inadvertently spent all day distracting myself and had no time to think, plan, write a to-do list etc.
Bedtime jotting (rather than full journaling) helps me too.
And to the OP- my story is similar to yours, and cutting bedtime phone use definitely helped me get back to sleep again after my children woke me in the night.
I will be very curious to hear your update on this. I love the tactical ideas of cognitive shuffling, meditation, journaling/jotting. As a mom of young kids my first instinct is to go with what's working for now but we have to follow our own convictions so I commend you. Another tactical thing to consider would be an herbal tincture supplement. I've used passion flower during this very stressful year (it's helped fall asleep and get back to sleep after waking). Another good one is "Bedtime Drops" by Mountain Meadow Herbs.
I feel this and the only thing that's really helped is having my phone and laptop charge in a different room overnight. Otherwise the whisper of wikipedia is too insistent to ignore and it's 3am before I know it.
I've struggled with insomnia since becoming a mom and the only thing that has helped me is following the principles of CBT-i (cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia). You may want to check it out!
So nice to know I am not alone! I have to be listening to something. A podcast, an audiobook, just something to prevent the silence and all the thoughts in my head…!
I'm a somatic coach I help people use mind-body techniques to heal from chronic pain and/or overcome anxiety. Insomnia is not infrequent among these folks. It's pretty rare that people tune into the subtleties of their physical experience, the physical sensations in their body, and listen to the language of their body. Doing so has tremendous benefits. Similar to what people have said about not distracting themselves throughout the day, giving space for thoughts, I would say the same is helpful (necessary!) for noticing what is happening with our energy, what is happening in our bodies. Something I do at night and recommend to others is to just sit and notice what you feel in your body. Oftentimes I will feel somewhat bored, and have an itch to do another task, stimulate myself in some way. Maybe there's a rising feeling in my legs, maybe there are tingles in my hands and feet, maybe there are subtle waves of energy (all cues from my body to DO SOMETHING!). After a time, maybe 5-10 minutes, I can feel a shift, my parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) kicks in, things settle down, I feel the weight of my body, muscles relax, I feel much more prepared for sleep. I'm happy to answer any questions you have or talk more about it if you'd like to send a DM
Okay this is fascinating! I will DM you, I have a couple qs.
I struggled with the same type of thoughts/mind restlessness/'fired up brain' as you for a long time and it would take hours to get to sleep. What changed things for me a few years ago is that I realised my thoughts were going to my to do list, planning, etc, because I didn't have space to think about those things in the day. I was rushing everywhere, and using podcasts, music or Youtube to keep my mind busy and distracted during 'down time' such as my commute, cooking, or when I was having a bath. This meant my mind had no time to go through all the logistics of the next day, little problems during the current day or longer term planning, and the only time available was right before I tried to fall asleep. So that's when my mind fired up as it would finally have the space! I'd argue that changing this had a much bigger impact than reading a book before bed, or drinking chamomile tea. Now I try and distract myself very little in the day, especially if I have things to think about - for example if I am in a waiting room, I use the wait time to plan my grocery list or timeline of the next day, rather than go on Youtube or listen to a podcast. During my 30 mins walk to work, I go through anything that's on my mind rather than a podcast. It helps sooo much as when I go to bed all my problems are 'solved' and I've already directed my mind towards them earlier on. Sharing this in case it helps, and good luck with fixing your sleep - I'm looking forward to reading your update.
Oh totally. This is such a good point!! I wonder if by already dropping my phone time so much before this it will be inherently easier to transition into sleeping on my own because my brain isn't so cluttered.
Just wanted to add that I absolutely identify with this too! When my mind is racing at bedtime it's because I've inadvertently spent all day distracting myself and had no time to think, plan, write a to-do list etc.
Bedtime jotting (rather than full journaling) helps me too.
And to the OP- my story is similar to yours, and cutting bedtime phone use definitely helped me get back to sleep again after my children woke me in the night.
I love that "bedtime jotting" -- puts less pressure on it!
Just here to say that insomnia is awful and anxiety about insomnia makes it even worse!!!
The second my brain starts calculating how much sleep i’ll get if I fall asleep in next X mins, I know i’m in trouble!
I will be very curious to hear your update on this. I love the tactical ideas of cognitive shuffling, meditation, journaling/jotting. As a mom of young kids my first instinct is to go with what's working for now but we have to follow our own convictions so I commend you. Another tactical thing to consider would be an herbal tincture supplement. I've used passion flower during this very stressful year (it's helped fall asleep and get back to sleep after waking). Another good one is "Bedtime Drops" by Mountain Meadow Herbs.
Yeah, it’s so tricky though because when will I draw the line? I can choose “what’s working” for another 5 years at this rate!
That being said, once I put an honest effort into it, I won’t hesitate to go back to what works. I just have to know I really tried!
I will check out those tinctures!! I did try magnesium for a spell.
I feel this and the only thing that's really helped is having my phone and laptop charge in a different room overnight. Otherwise the whisper of wikipedia is too insistent to ignore and it's 3am before I know it.
What tactics do you use to fall asleep??
I've struggled with insomnia since becoming a mom and the only thing that has helped me is following the principles of CBT-i (cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia). You may want to check it out!
I'm off to research this right now!
So nice to know I am not alone! I have to be listening to something. A podcast, an audiobook, just something to prevent the silence and all the thoughts in my head…!
The places my brain goes in the middle of the night!! 👀