A Simple Way to Calm Your 3 a.m. Worries
Waking up in the middle of the night with 47 bouncy balls zinging around in your brain is the worst, isn’t it?
You open your eyes and realize that while you were gently sleeping, your brain was gearing up to solve all of your problems (and the world’s) at 3:07 AM.
Random thoughts can include:
did I remember to (fill in the blank)
will (fill in the blank with the name of a relative or friend) be ok
will the earth, our country, the oceans, the bees be ok
I really need to get my s*&t together
I’m going to declutter my office tomorrow
why did I dream about (insert random person from grade school)
I really need to spend less time on social media
I shouldn’t have had the chips, salsa, and second margarita past 8:00
will (fill in the blank with the name of a relative or friend’s child) be ok
I really need to go back to sleep
I really need to order dog food
did I remember to (fill in the blank with something new)
why can’t I go back to sleep?!??
I can neither confirm nor deny that this is an auto-biographical list, but I will confirm that EVERYTHING seems worse when you’re pondering it at 3AM.
I’m sure you already know this, but our brains are not our friends in the middle of the night. Remembering this tiny little fact can actually help you get out of the worry vortex and get more sleep so that you can have a brighter day when you wake up.
I’ve been experimenting with gently telling my unruly brain – Hey, I know you’re trying to help, but I really need to get some rest, so can we have this conversation in the morning?
For the most part, it’s been working.
REST is the key word here – if I say REST, I mostly drift back off, even if it takes awhile. If I tell myself to SLEEP, it backfires every time, and I’m clock-watching all night.
By morning, my brain is back to functioning normally (mostly), and my 3AM concerns seem way less daunting.
This week I’m wishing you restful sleep, and if nothing else, restful rest ; ).
