You’ve had a long day and been on the go for hours. You dream about the moment when you can get into bed, get comfy, and fall asleep. You get into bed for the night……and boom! Your mind starts racing with what you did today, what you’re doing tomorrow, and a conversation you had 3 months ago.
We’ve all been there, and it is SO FRUSTRATING! Follow these tips to quiet your mind so you can sleep soundly:
1. Establish a buffer zone
A buffer zone is a 30-60 minute window before you go to sleep in which you are doing things to actively relax your body and mind. This is a good time to power off any electronics, since blue light from TV, computers, and phones can send waking signals to the brain. Listen to some soothing music, read a book, take some deep breaths, or do anything else that you find relaxing.
2. Engage the deep relaxation response in the body
Speaking of relaxation, it is very important to relax your body and mind before bed. In order to fall asleep, your body and mind need to be calm with minimal tension. Great strategies for this include abdominal deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and guided visualization.
Great options for this include searching any of these techniques on YouTube in a search or downloading apps such as head space, calm, or breath2relax.
3. Set a worry time
It is important to address your worries so when it is time to sleep, you are not thinking about the stresses of the day or what you must do tomorrow. The best way to do this is to choose a 15-30 minute window in which you will record each worry, with your plan next to it.
Tackle 1 worry at a time, and don’t move on to the next until you have some kind of plan or coping strategy for your worry. Choose a consistent time daily, but not right before bed since we want a quiet mind before bed.
Follow these tips and get excited to experience a drastic difference in your sleep quality, energy, and productivity!
Book a discovery call if you want more customized guidance on how to quiet your mind and reduce stress to step into the best version of yourself. Sleep tight for now :)
----About Dr. Julia
Hi! I'm Dr. Julia. Health psychologist, stress and sleep expert, and creator of the Master Stress Method.
I have worked with thousands of individuals in major hospitals, university medical centers, and primary care settings to improve their stress levels, sleep, and overall emotional and physical well being.
My current focus is helping busy professionals prevent and manage the high stress that is getting in the way of their productivity, mood, sleep, and their ability to reach their full potential.
My 8-week, 1:1 coaching program has helped hundreds of stressed out, overwhelmed, and burned out clients significantly reduce their stress and anxiety, improve their sleep, and maximize their productivity, in just 8 short weeks.
I can't wait to help you stop the struggle with stress, for good. Let's chat :)