Can't Sleep

Posted on March 30, 2020

It’s the middle of the night and all my anxiety of the day plus a few new ones are making it hard to sleep. The “what ifs“ and “what next” are causing me to search over and over for new information on new sites. I feel stuck and since it’s the middle of the night, I really can’t talk to anyone. I need to use positive self-talk right now. I’m telling myself I did the best I could today and that’s okay. I try not to focus on what I need to do or haven’t done by making a list of tasks to do and “what’s bothering me” list so I can try to let go and stop thinking about it. I try to accept there are things I don’t know and can’t control in my life. I take comfort in the fact that I’m not alone in uncertainty and that lots of people are working on finding answers. I really need to go to sleep so I can be ready for tomorrow. 

I need to practice self-care to get back to sleep. Some of the things I do to get back to sleep is drink a hot herbal tea, listen to something relaxing, either a recorded book or music. Try to read a boring, tedious book. Take a bath or shower. Mediation, mentally counting numbers, deep breathing sometimes helps. It takes practice to get better at either falling asleep and staying asleep. I try not to use my phone or watch TV right before bedtime or during the time I’m supposed to be sleeping. I’m careful to not drink too much water a few hours before bedtime since I don’t enjoy waking up to use the bathroom. I stop drinking caffeinated drinks shortly after noon since that can interfere with a good night’s sleep. 

That’s a list of things I do and don’t do to get a good night’s sleep. I’m not always as successful as this blog shows, but I try my best. What about you, what works for you? What doesn’t work for you? Does it help knowing lots of people struggle to shut down anxiety to get a good night’s sleep? Please feel free to share what works for you in the comments. I look forward to hearing some new suggestions that may work well for me and others.