‘I want to sleep, but my brain won’t stop talking to itself, is the most common concern of most of us suffering from overthinking. Often, when we go to bed, our mind starts reviewing the day we have just completed. Sometimes, it even pulls out something embarrassing that you did a month or even a year ago to make you think about it for a while. But there must be a reason behind it: why do we overthink? Here is why.
Overthinking at night has a strong connection to what has happened to us during the day. If we go through too much information and incidents throughout the day, our minds will be full of thoughts that need processing. Once you lay down and switch on your rest mode, your brain sneaks the moment to finish all the unfinished processing which makes you awake for a large portion of your sleep time.
If you are too much worried about this topic and want to have deep insight, keep reading this article as we are about to dive deep into the details. After this, we will see some practical tips on how to stop overthinking at night. But let’s start with why we cannot stop thinking when trying to sleep.
Why do We Overthink At Night?
If we examine our daily routine, we will come to know that most of our day is too occupied with a lot of necessary and unnecessary information. Along with absorbing information, our mind has a job to process this information as well. However, this information is often way too much that it skips some unnecessary information and tries to focus on the necessary information.
While doing this, the brain often does not have the time and space during the day to process the left information. So, it leaves this information process toward the end of the day. Often, this time is when you are in bed. This is why you get all your thoughts rolling in when you are in bed.
Is Overthinking Bad For You?
According to the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, thinking about your mistakes, problems, and embarrassing moments increases your risk of mental health problems. This can indulge you in a vicious cycle that is hard to break. If this continues for a long time, your mental and physical health will also deteriorate.
With continuous overthinking and analyzing, you also lose your power to solve problems and make decisions. These decisions and problems can be as simple as choosing what to wear for an interview, where to go on vacation, and what to eat for breakfast.
In truth, overthinking is fatal for your health as it disturbs your sleep cycle and leads to only fewer hours of sleep. You cannot enjoy good health if you do not get enough sleep.
How Do I Stop Overthinking?
Once you understand what overthinking is and why you overthink when you are in bed, let us move to the tips by which we can stop our brain from overthinking.
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Replace Your Negative Thought With Positive One
Instead of thinking about the things that worry you, think about the ones who comfort you. For instance, if you like to fly, think about owning a private jet, and you travel in it to your favorite destinations. Or if you are interested in sports, think about playing them at your favorite venue.
The thought can be of anything you always wanted but did not get the chance to do. These can be about any music festival, person, or relationship you have always wanted to have. This will urge your mind to have a different thought process, overriding the older ones.
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Instruct Your Mind to Stay Awake
Instead of forcefully trying to sleep, instruct your mind to stay awake. Once you instruct it to stay awake, your anxiety and frustration of staying awake will be gone. As a result, you will feel comfortable, and your arousal level will drop.
Doing this will make it easy for your brain to run your thoughts paradoxically, and you will fall asleep quickly without indulging in the cycle of thoughts.
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Write Down Anything That is Making You Overthink
If your mind keeps putting you in a vicious cycle, just get out of your bed and write all those things that are making you overthink. This exercise will enable you to face your enemy in front. After writing all your worries down, try devising an action plan for all of them.
Give this task to your brain and ask it to come up with the best possible solution. Once you do this activity, your brain will generate signals letting you realize that these things are too trivial to ponder upon. With this realization, the brain will send signals of sleep, and your deep thoughts will fall apart.
In your struggle to stop overthinking, do not try harder to cope with it; otherwise, it will lead you to sleeplessness and insomnia. One successful approach to overcoming overthinking is to learn to observe the thought process and know from where all these thoughts are coming.
You can always end the supply when you know the source and stop unwanted thoughts. Try to accept the struggle of the mind and be mindful in using these strategies to help you sleep better.
Conclusion
Sleep is a luxury, but it can quickly become a source of worry when your thoughts are not in your control. Overthinking and overanalyzing are the two most fatal things that can not only ruin your sleep but also impair your health.
However, using the above three steps, you can eliminate the negative thought cycle that makes you overthink everything. These three strategies can help you avoid negative thoughts and sound sleep with less distress.
If you have been an overthinker for your whole life, it’s still not too late. You can quit it today! Take your decision now with these helpful strategies to overcome overthinking.