Insomnia can be caused by a variety of factors. Worrying, on the other hand, is one of the most common causes of persistent sleep loss. It's no surprise that you can't sleep if your mind goes into overdrive as your head strikes the pillow, creating mountains out of molehills.
Here's how to avoid anxiety from stealing your sleep. However, you are more likely to rewire your brain for sleep if you understand why it is now wired for insomnia.
Repetition creates neural pathways
Repeated activities, such as nighttime worrying, become habits. If you've spent many nights wide awake worrying about problems, your brain is wired for sleeplessness. It takes time to override old songs and produce new, superior ones, just as it takes time to generate neural connections in the brain through repetition.
The following suggestions may help you sleep, although they may not work immediately. Instead, be patient and carry them out until they become second nature. It will be simpler to sleep every night once you've made new brain connections.
When you are not calm, it is difficult to sleep. When you are worried about going asleep, it is difficult to relax. It may take some time to break free from this downward cycle.
Create a routine to help you relax
Anxiety rises before going to bed because you expect to be awake. After all, it is what normally occurs. You don't want to create anguish since tension keeps you awake when you want to sleep.
Follow a program to train your mind and body to relax as evening approaches, rather than increasing tension and suffering from insomnia. Following identical routines each night will put you in the mood to shut down your active thoughts and relax.
Using relaxing lavender essential oil in a hot bath an hour before night and then laying down to read might be part of your routine. Alternatively, you may listen to peaceful music, write in a diary, or do anything else relaxing before retiring for the night.
Reduce expectations
If you anticipate to have sleeplessness, your anxiety will increase. People who have trouble sleeping sometimes convince themselves that they must fall asleep immediately when they get to bed, as if they can force the issue. However, this generates resistance and tension.
Rather than putting pressure on yourself to sleep, envision yourself sleeping and enjoying pleasant thoughts. Your new attitude will aid to overcome previous neural circuits in your brain and pave the way for the new sleeping habit.
Calm your worries
When you're trying to sleep and your tension levels rise, remember that there's never a rational cause to be concerned. Going over problems is illogical and ineffective.
Bear in mind difficulties fall into one of two categories:
- You have the power to alter problems and make positive changes.
- You can’t do anything about the challenges you face.
As a result, you may change the source of your anxiety and eliminate the problem. Accept that you cannot change the circumstance and must accept it. You have no need to be concerned in any case.
Slow your thoughts
A mild, thoughtful workout can help to calm your system even more in preparation for sleep. Allow ideas to arise in bed and recognize them. When you make a note of them, envision them shrinking, floating away, or disappearing. Visualize their insignificance receding in your imagination.
The exercise may be difficult at first, but with practice, you will see favorable effects. The same is true if ideas become self-talk. Reduce their volume or vary their tone to make them more amusing; for example, worries broadcast in a squeaky cartoon character voice will lose seriousness and fade.
Focus on your body
Next, prioritize physical sensation above mental noise. Consider your entire body, beginning with your feet, and visualize your muscles relaxing. Slowly work your way up to the crown of your head, keeping your breath in mind. There will be no space for anxieties to flow, and you will fall asleep.
Worrying may keep you awake and rob you of much-needed sleep. If you follow the instructions in the sequence given, you will rewire your brain to help you sleep better.
