Have you ever been exhausted, ready to sink into your bed, but as soon as your head hits the pillow, your mind starts racing with thoughts?
The insights and tips I share here are based on solid research and real-life success stories to help you create meaningful habits and guide you toward better sleep.
Almost anyone I come in contact with today struggles with an overactive mind that keeps them awake at night.
I get it! I understand that navigating the flood of information available can be overwhelming.
In almost every one of my posts I mention how decision fatigue is stripping millennials from a more revitalising life. You’re constantly bombarded with advice and tips.
Instead, let’s change the narrative and use this abundance of information.With so many resources at your fingertips, there's no reason to let sleepless nights control your life.
Make it fun. Explore the strategies I mention. Then you can confidently make informed decisions that will help you achieve the restful sleep you deserve.
Why is it my brain won’t stop talking to itself?
When you can't sleep because your mind won't stop racing, it's usually due to stress, anxiety, or overstimulation keeping your brain active. This phenomenon disrupts the transition from wakefulness to sleep, impeding the ability to achieve restful sleep.
Photo by Karim Mansour on Unsplash
Internal Chatter Serves A Critical Purpose
This is where it gets controversial. And this is where we change the narrative. There are so many different possibilities.
Sure...it's true...sleepless nights ase disruptive and can lead to a cycle of fatigue, irritability, and brain fog.
On the other hand, the brain won’t stop talking to itself because it’s wired for an endless stream of inner dialogue.
This internal chatter known as self-talk serves a critical purpose; it helps you process experiences, plan for the future, and make sense of the world around you.
Whether you're replaying a conversation, solving a problem, or daydreaming about possibilities, your brain is constantly active, engaging in a silent dialogue.
This mental monologue doesn't necessarily mean it's a sign of distraction or stress. It can be an essential function that enhances self-awareness, welcomes creativity, and aids in decision-making.
Embracing this continuous inner conversation can lead to insight and a deeper understanding of yourself.
Your Brain Is Constantly Driven To Solve Problems
Your brain is constantly driven to solve problems because it’s inherently wired to seek resolution and understanding.
This problem-solving instinct is rooted in the brain's complex neural architecture.
Studies have shown that when faced with a challenge, the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for higher-order thinking and decision-making, becomes highly active.
The brain releases neurotransmitters like dopamine when a solution is found. This rewards the effort and encourages future problem-solving endeavours.
This drive is a fundamental aspect of human cognition that has evolved to help us navigate complex environments, innovate, and adapt.
By continuously seeking to resolve problems, the brain enhances our learning, improves our memory, and sharpens our critical thinking skills, making us more adept at overcoming obstacles and achieving our goals.
Using this knowledge and integrating mindful techniques to interrupt this process is a well-versed solution. That's why counting sheep exists.
The Practice Of Counting Sheep
The practice of counting sheep is an ancient method designed to calm the mind and prepare it for sleep by diverting attention from active problem-solving.
Supposedly, originating from medieval shepherds who would count their flock to ensure none were missing, this technique was adopted as a mental exercise to soothe an overactive mind.
Early in the 12th century, a physician by the name of Petrus Alphonsi wrote a collection of tales titled "Disciplina Clericalis".
In one of his tales, the protagonist uses this method to induce sleep. Some argue it's the first known literary reference where counting sheep appears.
Here’s the story: “The King and his StoryTeller.” One night, after listening to his usual five stories but still unable to sleep, the king asked for more stories.
The storyteller shared three additional tales. The king still couldn’t sleep and demanded a longer story.
The storyteller then began to tell him about a farmer who went to market with a thousand solidi and bought 2000 sheep, each costing six dinars. On his way back, he found that the brook he needed to cross was flooded.
After searching for a bridge - without success - he discovered a small boat that could hold only himself and two sheep. He began transporting the sheep two at a time across the brook.
At this point, the storyteller fell asleep.
When the king woke him and demanded he finish the story, the story-teller replied, “That river is broad, but the skiff is tiny and the flock of sheep immense. Allow, therefore, the aforementioned farmer to transport his sheep, and then I will finish the story I have begun” (Petrus Alphonsi 1911, 17; Petrus Alphonsi 1977, 123; translation modified).
So you see, by focusing on a repetitive and monotonous task, like envisioning sheep jumping over a fence, the brain's problem-solving machinery is gently lulled into a state of relaxation.
Photo Simon Berger by on Unsplash
You Can Train Your Mind To Prepare For Sleep
Here are the 4 key tips that worked for my client. And you can start these right now:
- Create a Bedtime Routine: Establishing a consistent pre-sleep routine signals to your brain that it's time to wind down. For one of my clients, this meant setting a regular bedtime, dimming the lights, and engaging in mindful activities.
- Practice Mindfulness and Meditation: Mindfulness exercises and meditation can help calm your overactive mind. Focusing on specific breathing like square breath works wonders for a client of mine. She swears by. She begins…then is out like a light…and before she knows it it’s morning.
- Limit Screen Time: Exposure to blue light from screens can interfere with melatonin production and disrupt your sleep. Wearing proper blue light glasses during the day while working has really helped me and quite a few of my clients.
- Journaling: Writing down your thoughts before bed can be a powerful way to clear your mind.
Does magnesium help you get more deep sleep?
In addition to these strategies, a couple of my clients have added a magnesium supplement to their nightly routine.
Their sleep quality improved. They found it easier to fall asleep. To be honest, it does the same for me, which is why I mention it.
Magnesium plays a crucial role in the body's ability to relax and sleep well. Studies have shown that magnesium deficiency can lead to sleep disturbances, so ensuring adequate intake can make a significant difference.
Some supplements are hard for the body to absorb. So, if you go down this route make sure you go for one that’s specifically formulated for optimal absorption and will give you the full benefits of what magnesium has to give.
Try out these tips and the recommended magnesium supplement, and let me know how you go. It’s important to record what does or doesn't work for you.
Remember to adjust and adapt methods. We so easily get stuck in patterns. And, there's no one right method that works every time.
Here's to finding your restful sleep amid life's plentiful and beautiful distractions!
You can find the magnesium supplement that worked for my clients and me
here.
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Petrus Alphonsi. Die Disciplina Clericalis Des Petrus Alfonsi. Edited by Alfons Hilka and Werner Söderhjelm, Carl Winter’s Universitätsbuchhandlung, 1911.
---. The Disciplina Clericalis of Petrus Alphonsi. Translated by Eberhard Hermes and P. R. Quarrie, U of California P, 1977.