5 Ways to Calm Your Scattered Mind Before Sleeping

When we find ourselves absolutely exhausted, all we want is to be able to fall asleep like a baby but in reality, we end up tossing and turning for hours. After a long day of work, school, social activities, and responsibilities, it can be difficult to switch off your brain and drift into relaxation mode. The next time you find your mind racing in the middle of the night, try one of the helpful tips below to calm yourself into sleep mode. And if this night time distress is a frequent occurrence for you, these small tricks will surely help you to calm your racing mind.

Journal Your Thoughts

Journaling is a great way to clear out scattered and heavy thoughts. If writing doesn’t come naturally to you, try a guided journal app that provides prompts along the way. Keeping a daily journal helps in reducing stress, managing emotions, and overall improving wellbeing. You can write these on a piece of paper or simply type them on your phone to release emotions from the previous day.  When tracking your daily thoughts, it’s becomes easier for you to prioritize different aspects of your life, identify when you’re participating in negative self-talk, and recognize what factors of your life may be negatively triggering you.

Take a Warm Bath

There is nothing more relaxing than a warm bath. Set up your bathroom with candles and soothing music to ease yourself out of the busy day and into the stillness of night time. Warm water relaxes the muscles of your body and helps you de-stress. Try adding some bath salts to your bathing water for a nice fragrance. A warm bath lowers your heart rate and blood pressure. You can even listen to some soothing music as you bath.

Avoid Blue Light Emission

The blue light of our phones suppresses our melatonin secretion, which is a hormone related to sleep. During the night, we need melatonin to kick in so that we can sleep peacefully. Turning off your phone at least one hour prior to bed and participating in a calming activity such as reading or listening to soothing music can help you nod off faster. Another thing that could help reduce your exposure to blue light waves is a pair of blue light glasses that are both cute and effective!

Practice Mindfulness & Meditation Techniques

One of the best ways to clear your scattered mind is by meditating and focusing on your breathwork. The next time you’re tossing and turning in your sheets, try downloading an app that provides guided meditation exercises like headspace or calm. There are specific sessions that focus on winding down at night and drifting into sleep. Normally these exercises help to ground you by tuning you in to your breathing and clearing your head of the day’s worries. If you find yourself staring at the ceiling when you should be snoozing, give a meditation app a whirl.

Stick to a Sleep Schedule

The recommended amount of sleep for a healthy adult is at least seven hours. Most people don’t need more than eight hours in bed to achieve this goal. Try to get up and go to bed  at the same time every day. Try to limit the difference in your sleep schedule on weeknights and weekends to no more than one hour. Being consistent reinforces your body’s sleep-wake cycle. If you don’t fall asleep within about 20 minutes, leave your bedroom and do something relaxing.  Read a book or listen to a podcast. Don’t be anxious about why you are not falling asleep, it will only hamper your melatonin secretion.

Vishakha

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