9 Sure Ways to Get Your Anxious Mind to Sleep
If you can’t fall asleep because of your anxious mind you are not alone. Insomnia related to anxiety can be maddening. Nights without sleep can lead to heightened anxiety symptoms in the days following. Learn how to get to sleep with anxiety.
Here are ways I can get my anxious mind to sleep fast.
1. Journaling
Before laying down, or even before you go into your bedroom get writing.
Writing down all the things that are swirling around your head helps release the stress of trying to remember all the things you need to do the next day or will help put an end to worrying about something for tonight allowing yourself to revisit the problem with a fresh mind tomorrow.
Something fun to write about: write down things you want to dream about.
For example
- Questions you want answered
- Places you’d like to visit
- People you want to see, alive or not
Have fun with this. Stressing over needing a question answered won’t help. Keep it playful and fun.
2. Melatonin
Melatonin is a hormone naturally produced in the body but our modern lifestyles confuse the body and it becomes under produced.
Melatonin is your body’s dark signal telling your body its time to slow down processes like digestion and start getting ready for sleep and repairing mode.
So what does a melatonin supplement do? Living with artificial light is pretty amazing but messes with our natural internal clock. Taking a supplement about a half hour before sleep helps stimulate a natural feeling of getting tired and falling asleep.
This will only work if you actually lay down and try to sleep. Make it dark, turn off your phone, help your body do what it naturally needs for a good night’s sleep.
If sleep has been escaping you, try going to sleep earlier. Staying up late will signal your body to produce chemicals which help you stay awake.
Set yourself a bedtime and stick to it. Your body will begin to thrive on this consistency. You will notice yourself falling asleep faster as well as feeling much less anxious the following day.
3 Get rid of social media
Believe it or not, social media is a land of constant comparisons. This leaves us feeling depressed and anxious about what we could or should be doing.
Try a social media fast. Remove it all from your phone. Set yourself time limits for the use of your phone, tablet, computer during your down times.
You will be amazed at how well you begin to sleep when you realize you could care less about all those things that were sucking you in.
4 Audio books
There are times when I cannot turn off the voice in my head long enough to fall asleep. In those times I grab these sleeping headphones, which block out light and lay flat and soft on my ears. I listen to someone else talking and it forces my own mind to take a break.
This usually makes me fall asleep really fast once I give in and focus on the words being spoken. If you want to fall asleep extra fast listen to scripture. Haha
5 Sleep somewhere new
If you are beginning to feel haunted by the distress of a night of missed sleep, leave the bedroom. Make yourself a cozy place to sleep on a couch. Or plan a vacation if you can.
New sounds, feelings , and maybe a different temperature can shake up your anxious sleep pattern.
6 Breathe like this…
Breathe slowly while counting.
- Start by just breathing in and out slowly.
- Think “One” while breathing in
- Think “Two” every time you breath out.
- After a few relaxing breaths breath in slowly and hold your breath for 7 seconds. Breathe out slowly and continue the “One, Two” breathing.
Notice when your mind starts to wonder and bring it back to “One”(breathe in)…”Two”(breathing out)
If your mind is wondering off too much add an image in your mind to focus on. Make the image very meaningless.
- For example, picture a white candle with a small flickering flame. Imagine you are looking at this candle while doing your slow breaths.
Every few minutes, stop and hold your breath for another 7 seconds. This helps slow your heart rate and fall asleep faster.
7 Sleep Hypnosis
Listen to a guided sleep hypnosis on your sleeping headphones. These can be very relaxing. Find all different types of sleep hypnosis on YouTube.
There are some specifically geared towards helping relieve anxiety.
It can be good, however, to focus on something completely different from anxiety. Listen to a hypnosis about something enlightening and intriguing. Like a hypnosis that will help you remember your dreams.
8 Weighted Blanket.
Try a weighted blanket like this one here. This works for anxious children as well as adults. The weight of the blanket provides pressure and warmth similar to a warm hug.
The weight relaxes the body, is grounding, helps produce melatonin, and increases the feel good serotonin helping relieve depression and anxiety.
Relax your body. Make it melt into your mattress. Find a part of your body that is most comfortable and relaxed. Keep your focus and attention on that really good feeling part of your body.
9 If all fails…
If you find yourself still awake, get up and do something physically exhausting. Get in a good workout and get your heart pumping. This burst of stress gives you a boost in serotonin and helps break a negative state of mind.
Take a hot shower or bath then crawl into bed. Some may think the workout may be stimulating and make you more wakeful but for me it helps cause deep relaxation. Try it! You can sleep with anxiety.
Read my post here about my bedtime routine that has helped me progressively get to sleep fast. This will help you create your own routine which your mind and body will thank you for.
Related: 7 Way to Calm an Anxious mind
Related: How to tell Intrusive thoughts to drop dead