To think my brain could SHUT UP about all the things I'm going to do tomorrow overnight so I can get some sleep and actually be rested enough to do them?

[murmuration]

ARGH! Why does my brain do this to me? Have plenty to get done today, and here I am in the morning at work bleary-eyed because my brain spun through all the things I need to do instead of letting me sleep. And it's not like I was worrying or anything - I've got a fine handle on accomplishing these things in the time I have (assuming I'm not sleep-deprvied!) and nothing is distressing or anything. It's just my brain thinks its a better use of my time to imagine composing emails and planning what order I'm going to do things in, in the middle of the night, instead of letting me sleep.

Does anyone else have this problem? Does anyone have solutions?

Yes I do.

My solution is Night Nurse

Write down the things you need to do tomorrow then put the note away in your bag ready for work in the morning. This is only thing that stops me over thinking at night

Frequently. Write it down so your brain doesn't feel it needs to hang on to it.

Yes write down stuff you have on your mind and pick a time during the day to do your thinking. This helps me switch off.

The story of my life

god all the time. I find mindfulness really helps me stop the constant buzzing and helps me switch off. there is a great app called headspace. I do the sleep pack which is 10 mins.

Write it down! Oh, that's interesting! When do you write it down? End of the working day for the next day? Before bed? In the middle of the night when your brain won't shut up?

I don't think I could do it right before bed, because I've found even 'pulling up' the thought of what I need to do tends to keep me awake and then I don't fall asleep. Although maybe if I wrote it down it would be like turning my attention to it and then letting go. Hmm. Or I could keep a notebook beside the bed and scribble in the dark when I wake up in the middle of the night.

Another thing that helps me is playing word association in my head, just keep saying words, no pausing to think. It helps me drift off and interestingly usually helps me get to the route of what's bothering me. All words lead to the sane thing whatever I start at. It's hard to explain but try it.

Ah, yes, I have headspace! I use the sleep pack when going to sleep, and am pretty good at drifting off. But then I wake 3/4am to go to the loo, and can't back asleep because my brain starts spinning.

Write down your list before bed.

It's the story of mine as well. The thing is I often end up worrying about things that are totally inconsequential in the day. Wouldn't give them a second thought but everything seems worse at night. YANBU.

Oh, that word association thing sounds sort of fun. Maybe I'll give that a try (it will at least be less dull than doing tomorrow's work twice - once in imagination and once again for real).

I find the best thing to do when that is happening is to break the cycle by reading or watching something mindless on my iPad, with earphones. I know people suggest you shouldn't have screens, but it works very well for me.

Yes and it's the 3/4 am wakeup rather than not being able to get to sleep. Often one worry leads into another...washing machine mind.

Yes and it's the 3/4 am wakeup rather than not being able to get to sleep. Often one worry leads into another...washing machine mind.

I do a similar thing- think of a word, any word, then think of as many things (objects, not concepts or feelings etc.) as you can beginning with each letter of the word in turn.

It Seems to work by blocking the stressful thoughts instead of clearing them.

Article about the technique here:

Cognitive shuffle

Probably not helpful, but I've just started taking anti depressants, and it has definitely helped to stop my racing thoughts. My mind is quieter now, I feel nothing. Maybe that's not a good thing though.

I use a to do app list on my phone, I have a tendency to fixate on what needs doing - at the expense of either sleeping or doing it. It really helps

The solution I found is the Kindle.

I set its light to 3 or 4 (very very low) where I can barely read, and drop off to sleep when I'm too tired to hold it, still thinking of the story. This is finally what stopped me staying up all night thinking of what will be the next day, what can be, what I need to do to make sure it doesn't happen, etc.

I have mindfulness apps on my phone

I use the memo function to jot down anything in particular that is cycling over and over. Often I find when I check in the morning it is something very inconsequential

Oh, wow, that cognitive shuffle looks really interesting. I will definitely try that.

And it's totally inconsequential stuff - like I didn't have time to get back to email before I left work, and my brain writes "Sounds great, see you on Fri" over and over in reply to someone. Or is thinking how we're out of porridge, so I'll suggest DD has youghurt for breakfast. I'm so not worried about these things, but I just can't get my mind still.

I really like the idea of giving it nonsense. One thing I've noticed is that right before I fall alseep I do tend to think nonsense, like I'll be thinking about DD's yoghurt and then think, but make sure the elephant doesn't get any as he gets cranky and then DH won't be able to take him swimming as he'll splash the water everywhere, and then I think, huh, what?, and I remember very little else... The idea of doing the nonsense on purpose is very intriguing.

Have you tried thinks like those rainfall apps? I find the sound of rain quite soporific - partly to do with being all cosy and warm inside whilst it's chucking down outside.

Like others here, I write stuff down, otherwise I spend my time trying to make sure I don't forget it - which keeps me awake. More recently I've just been struggling to sleep. Wine/alcohol doesn't help; it does the opposite to me - it magnifies everything.