When you can’t sleep and you stare at the ceiling for hours, you have plenty of room to think about everything. Thoughts can repeat themselves over and over again in the head, keeping you awake. Worrying in bed can cause insomnia. If this continues for a longer period of time, it can lead to all kinds of complaints, such as extreme fatigue, depression or chronic stress. There are a number of things you can do to put your worrying to bed, where relaxation and seeking distraction are important.
What worrying means
With normal thoughts you are able to put things into perspective and anticipate them correctly. When ordinary thoughts turn into over-exerted thinking, in which the same thoughts repeat themselves over and over again, we call it worrying. You can worry about all kinds of things from the past or about things that are yet to happen. For many people, certain thoughts are much more intense at night than during the day. When they think about what they were worrying about at night during the day, they suddenly find it much less intense during the day.
Lying awake due to worrying
People can worry about all kinds of things, for example relationship problems, problems at work, financial problems or health problems. Worrying can keep you awake for hours. This can form a pattern that repeats every night. This can cause insomnia, which also affects you during the day. This can lead to exhaustion, reduced resistance, irritability, stress and depression. Negative thoughts can influence your entire life. If it happens occasionally, it is manageable, but what should you do if the worrying causes you to suffer from long-term insomnia?
Tips against worrying
There are a number of things you can do or not do that will help you stop worrying. Often it is not easy and takes time before it works. Balance can be hard to find and you no longer know how to relax. The most important thing is to clear your mind so you can relax. The question then is how to do that. Here are some tips that can relieve you from nighttime worries:
Write it down
Everything you put on paper can be put out of your mind. Take a moment of no more than half an hour every day to put everything you’re worrying about on paper. Write down everything that comes to mind and runs through your mind on paper and put the paper away. This way you can lie in bed with a clear head. If you prefer to draw things on paper, this can also help.
Relaxation exercises
Lie down on your back and relax completely. In your mind, go to your right leg and feel how the leg leans on the surface. Then let the leg become heavier and concentrate only on that leg. Visualize it by thinking, for example, that there is something heavy on your leg. Once you’re done with this, do the same for your left leg. You can then do the same with your arms, head and torso.
Get out of your head
Try to get unpleasant thoughts out of your head by focusing on your body. For example, in addition to relaxation exercises, you can do some yoga. You can also ask your partner to give you a relaxing massage.
To seek distraction
Try to find distractions to break the worry. This can be done, for example, by reading a book or magazine, taking a bath, listening to your favorite music, cuddling your pet or thinking about positive things.
More relative
You are quickly tempted to see bears on the road when you lie awake in the dark. Ask yourself if the thought is true. For example, the writer Byron Katie has written a book (4 questions that can change your life) to help you put thoughts into perspective. Choose a worrying thought and ask yourself the following four questions:
- Is the thought true?
- Can you know absolutely that what you think is true?
- How do you react, what happens when you believe that thought?
- Who would you be without the thought?
Think positive
End the day with a positive thought. Look at yourself in the mirror as you brush your teeth before bed and think of something that is going well and that you can be proud of.
What not to do
Don’t read exciting books or watch scary movies just before you go to bed. Then you run the risk of not being able to let go of it when you are in bed and of it making you restless. It is also unwise to work or spend intensive time on the computer. Don’t have heavy emotional conversations and don’t exercise intensively just before going to sleep. It is also better to avoid coffee and alcohol.
When you can’t solve it
Sometimes it is not possible to break through the negative thinking and you cannot get rid of the sleeping problem. It is unwise to continue to muddle through for a long time because all kinds of disorders, such as depression or burnout, may lurk. Sometimes it is better to seek help from a psychologist or take a course against worrying. Often all kinds of (unconscious) thoughts and fears play a role that maintain the worrying. When you examine them thoroughly, you can learn to deal with them and overcome any blockages.
read more
- Tips to become happier
- Insomnia due to depression: how to tackle it?
- Insomnia: how can you best deal with it?
- Yoga as a relaxation tool for a better night’s sleep
- Special facts about sleep