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?

Have my back tickled and listen to sleep sound scapes/ stories on Calm or Dipsea.

Sleephones (so I don't wake DH - who if he falls asleep in front of the TV could sleep thru any movie but is ridiculously sensitive to sound in bed) - very comfy, even if you do look like John MacInroe in his prime.

"In Our Time'" podcast on a subject I'm not interested in - in my case economics or maths. It's a very civilised discussion programme so no one ever raises their voice or gets agitated so it's always a calm place. Never manage more than two episodes before I'm gone. Harry Sherer from The Simpsons / Spinal Tap also swears by Melvyn Bragg & jus guests.

Jealous of the back tickles (though otherwise happy to be alone in my bed and not disturbed by another sleeping body).

I found a series of podcasts called bore you to sleep. Just a woman talking through the her very plain and boring day in a nice voice. I never get past what she has for breakfast.

Balance App, I think it might still be free for 12 months. That has a fab section on sleep, mediation, stories, sounds etc.

Alphabet game. Pick any random topic then work through e.g. a = Athens b = Berlin etc. Not getting hung up on tricky ones but trying to come back to them at the end or just changing topic.

I tried that. It did distract from the racing mind, but still awake for a few hours and started to run out of words beginning with ...!!
And that stressed me .

Will try again.

I swap sides often when trying to get to sleep. I will have a go though.

They look good and not to expensive , Will give them a try. Thanks.

I seem to swap them over if I need to change position without even waking up properly and can wake up on the same side I went to sleep in, which coincides usually with my better nights' sleep.

I listen to familiar audio books. I've listened to hitchhikers guide to the galaxy since I was about 16. Others have been introduced over the years but it has to be something I am very familiar with. It is then enough to distract my brain from other things but not so interesting that it stops me falling asleep. Maybe try listening to something in the day a few times first so it's familiar before trying it at bed time.

Apologies for the typos in my post, I was half asleep when I wrote it!

I also like insight timer, and second trying out all the sleep or yoga nidra ones until you find a voice you like. My favourite is Glenda Cedarleaf, and it’s all free. I also have the Calm app, which I pay for but I’ve always managed to find a cheap offer for a year’s subs and never pay full price. Agree the sleep stories are fab. My favourite voices are Anna Acton, Alan Sklar, Chike Okonkow, Erik Braa… and I love the travel stories best.

Podcasts I like include the ‘I can’t sleep’ podcast, which is a bloke with a lovely soothing voice reading out Wikipedia articles on all sorts of topics, some very boring and some quite interesting (and I find either works well for putting me to sleep!), and ‘nothing much happens’, which is a woman with a nice voice telling cosy stories, though I found that one a bit annoyingly twee after a while.

I must check out ‘not just the tudors’, it looks great. A podcast I listen to in the daytime rather than to fall asleep, but I guess it would work for that too, is ‘you’re dead to me’, which is a bbc one by the people who do horrible histories, but aimed at adults. The presenter (a trained historian), an expert historian and a comedian get together to discuss various historical topics, some of which I knew a bit about and some of which I didn’t and so I’ve learned a lot, and it’s good fun.

The player fm app. Pick a podcast and set the timer.

I used to listen to familiar tv shows like friends before podcasts were big.

Haven’t read the whole thread but my tips:

• alcohol makes it so much worse
• if the thoughts are about things you need to do or remember, get up and write them down
• agree with having “safe” topics to keep your brain occupied but not stressed, like pp I design rooms in my head, or plan fantasy holidays
• rereading a bit of an old familiar book helps
• earplugs - not because it’s noisy but because they seem to help me feel “off duty”

Podcasts music etc wouldn’t work for me, I need quiet to sleep

Sing in your head, it can be something monotonous or repetitive like Happy Birthday to you, Happy birthday to you etc.

It seems to stp your mind thinking

I’m terrible for this. We’re in the middle of moving house at the moment and I wish we’d paid for a packing service because planning how and what to pack is consuming time I could be sleeping!

I swear by space masks which are like eye masks which heat up. They’re quite expensive though and not reusable so I save them for when I really need to sleep or things like flights when I’d struggle to get to sleep normally.

I'm fine with sleep when at home after getting to a state where I can just switch off. However, nights away linked to work were a problem. Part of me was thinking through work things and another was misbehaving due to being elsewhere. My solution was a book. It is fairly academic, but on a subject I am interested in, and I try to do four pages. I drift away after two or three almost without fail.

I tried cognitive shuffle…am a long term poor sleeper and it really worked!! Am converted 😊

Another one who has an audiobook on a timer. My mind has to listen to that rather than my internal voice. If I wake up I put it back on.

Choose a book read by someone with a slightly boring voice!

i always use a ‘Sound Asleep’ speaker pillow to avoid disturbing my hubby. The pillow has a small embedded speaker and you plug in your phone. I often let an audiobook run all night so I can dip in if I wake up. Usually I fall back to sleep as soon as I focus on the story. I sit my iPhone on a charger mat so the lighting port is available for the speaker wire. Good luck!

Read a novel, followed by a single word affirmation, the word I use when doing transcendental meditation.

I've tried similar.

The result was finishing the book, resting my head back peacefully and following with a single word affirmation as my alarm goes off 47 seconds later.

'Fuck'.

I've tried cognitive shuffling after reading about it on this thread. I have used it for the last three nights when I wake up at 3 or 4 with a racing mind and it's actually worked for me. Certainly not instant but so much better than my usual worrying for hours before drifting back off just before my alarm goes off. Thank you to those who suggested this!

Menopausal so waking in a sweat anyway. Has to be dark and silent. I anticipate a couple of wakes. I think about something dull but not work or child related. Zone out