If you have a mind that goes on overdrive at night, how do you switch off for sleep?

[hmmmmfix]

Through the day everything seems fine (ish) then at night my mind goes into overdrive, milling over things, mistakes, things that could go wrong, conversations, work, you name it, it will pop into my head at bedtime and disrupt sleep.

Am I alone in this hyper over thinking bedtime mode? What do you do to switch off and have a peaceful sleep?

I've only started doing this recently and I'm trying really hard to break the cycle.

I'm 43, so if there's anything out of the ordinary for me, I'm putting it down to the peri menopause.

I like Bob Ross videos on BBC4 to wind down to.

Meditation massively helped for me. It gave my brain time to churn out all its random thoughts, so it didn't need to do it at bedtime.

Also, write things down to get them out of your head.

Listening to 'rain sounds' on Alexa.

If all else fails, CBD oil.

Podcasts and audiobooks to drown out the internal monologue.
Magnesium oil spray to help with perimenopausal symptoms.

Radio 4 podcasts work best for me. It used to take about an hour of listening to fall asleep. Now my brain seems to recognise that podcasts are 'sleep time' and I can sometimes be asleep within 3/4 minutes. Usually it takes about 10 minutes.

Honestly, the only thing that has worked for me is medication. I’ve had 20+ years of insomnia and tried everything but my latest bought which lasted from Dec 20 to earlier this year had me on my knees. My doctor won’t prescribe sleeping tablets but is happy to prescribe a tablet with a mild sedative effect. It’s been life changing for me and I dread thinking about what will happen when I eventually stop taking them.

I have a head phone band that I can sleep in and listen to podcasts or an audio book.

What do I do? Admit I'm beaten despite giving up practically everything, doing all the right things and still not getting more than 3 and a bit hours for years. Never did sleep much as a kid either.

Now I twat around on my phone until my eyes water, then put an ultra running documentary on and I'm asleep for a heady 5 and a bit hours on a good night.

I've suffered with this for years. Some things I've tried have worked a while then I'm back to wondering if there is a heaven and will I be accepted??
No caffeine after a certain time (5ish)
Warm bath, with lavender essential oil
Pillow spray
Lavender scented waxes etc in bedroom
Johnson baby bedtime oil (leaves skin lovely if nothing else)
TV on to fall asleep to
ASMR - not the eating sounds etc but I enjoy the massage and facial videos and some role plays like medical exams

I started falling asleep to audiobooks when my tinnitus got really bad and I couldn't shut the noise out to sleep. It was the final straw as I was already a bad sleeper. I'd tried guided meditations in the past and found them good sometimes but they'd become too familiar and stop working. So an audiobook is perfect. I do like the sleep stories on Calm too (I like the Mary Berry one too and lots of the travel stories). For all of these the narrator has to be right! If I don't like the narrator there's no hope. I like the idea of cognitive shuffling. I used to go through the alphabet and think of eg an animal beginning with a, b, c, d... but it made me think too much!

Me too! So weird but it's the thing that seems to work best for me. Am going through a lot right now and my mind is working overtime but this works.

Recently discovered StringSpace on Spotify.

It's a play list of all fairly well known, classics and modern songs but the instrumental version only usually on harp.

It's definitely work checking out. I find it far more relaxing than a lot of the meditation apps with bird/water/zen sounds etc.

I do puzzles. Often falling asleep pen in hand and book on the floor.

Commenting so I read this tomorrow.
Lately with job searching and studying I've not been switching off, up until all hours thinking and planning and then waking early doing the same!

Thanks for all your suggestions.

The listening to rain and an audiobook book on a timer are great ideas.

I could relate to the person that mentioned they had therapy for 18m and this was a helpful insight.

I wish there was a switch in our minds that we could turn off at night and turn back on in the morning.

I listen to This is politics podcast or decorate & furnish the house I am hoping to get in the next feww years in my head.

No matter how tired I am my brain decides that as soon as I cross the threshold into my bedroom every minor thing that has ever happened in my life should be replayed in excruciating detail
I can really relate to this

What works for me:

giving up alcohol (drinking a lot these days and sleep has gone to shit again )

4-7-8 breathing

Radio podcasts on a timer

Exercise during the day (not doing a lot of exercise these days and sleep has gone to shit again)

magnesium, anti depressants, chamomile tea, a bath, no phone calls after 8, a good cry, journaling

it’s actually exhausting the amount of effort people like us put into sleep . When I’m going through a good bout and taking my meds and not drinking alcohol I can do everything else ‘wrong’ and still sleep . It’s so psychological (in my case anyway

Audio books, read and then counting my slow breathing. If thoughts pop in I start at 1 again.

Insight Timer app has been my sleep saviour. It’s free to download and contains many many sleep options.

Look for Yoga Nidra (basically body scan). Find someone whose voice you like.

It’s rare that I’m awake at the end of the session.

I did the cognitive shuffling last night!!

Amazing!

Had forgotten about it until I woke up this morning. Only got to my 3rd letter!!!

I have a few 'safe' thoughts that I'm allowed to explore eg decorating my entirely fictional London flat or planning a holiday (no budget or real life rules). If I stick to safe topics I manage to drop off eventually.

Definitely going to give cognitive shuffle a go though. Never heard of that.

I don't generally have trouble sleeping but on the odd occasion that my mind is over active I do things like try to remember all the kids in my primary school class (I am l
48). Or think of colleagues at work starting with A and going through the alphabet. Sound full but always works.

The world service on the radio is my friend.
I also design houses in my head, which seems to help.

Give up caffeine. I tried everything. Spent money on cool pillows, pillow sprays, new mattress, tried ASMR, cognitive shuffling, audible. Nothing worked.

Gave up caffeine and it literally changed my life.

Same as others: unless my eyes can't stay open from reading I will watch or listen to the following:
Podcasts:

• Presidents and Prime Ministers with Iain Dale
• In Our Time
• Not Just The Tudors

TV:

• The Sky At Night
• Digging For Britain
• Britain's Lost Masterpieces
• Art on the BBC

Youtube:

• ASMR (various channels)
• Farming Simulator 'let's play' videos