Picture this – you’re at work and already dreaming about falling asleep tonight. The intensity for your bed only increases on your commute home. Once home, you do a few things and then that glorious time to crawl back into bed has arrived. You take off your makeup, or shower the day away and put on your coziest jammies. You jump into bed, excited for a great night’s rest - your rub your feet together like the little cricket you are. The pillow is chilled to your liking, you find a comfy position to lean into. The ambiance is just right. You close your eyes and wait – nothing happens. And nothing else happens. Tossing and turning commences. You look at the clock. GAME OVER.

“I can’t sleep”, you type into Google.

Down the rabbit hole you go. This article pops up. You click on it. How meta.

Without further pomp and circumstance, here are some mindfulness practices you can try when you've tossed your last turn:

1. Bust Out the Pen and Paper
• Brain Dump – You’ve likely got a bunch of ideas, solutions, and reminders bouncing around in your head. Take a few minutes to write down everything on your mind on a sheet of paper. Why does this work? Your brain might stop ruminating and chill the f*ck out long enough for you to drift off to sleep.
• Gratitude Journal - List out things you are grateful in that moment. These can be big things or small, serious or silly. Science says you can’t be anxious and grateful at the same time (Chowdhury, 2019).
2. Shift Your Mindset
• Instead of lying there and counting down how much sleep you will get if you fall asleep right NOW, try shifting your goal to become as relaxed as possible. Get in the comfiest position that you can and snuggle up. Take deep, slow breaths or use a breathing technique. Try turning on some ambient music or white noise.
• Remember, you’ve had plenty of nights where you didn’t sleep well and functioned just fine the next day. Were you groggier in the morning? Sure, but did you survive? Absolutely. On nights she can’t sleep, @sleepdocshelby says a mantra: “If I don’t sleep tonight, I’ll sleep tomorrow, and if not tomorrow then definitely the next night” to relieve some pressure to fall asleep.
3. 5-4-3-2-1 Method
• Developed by Betty Alice Erickson, sit up and use your senses. Look around and identify five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell and one thing you can taste. (Quick, 2013). If in the moment you can’t identify any number of items within a sense category – visualize of your favorite sight, thing to feel, sound, scent or food. This works to ground you in the present, instead of worrying about whatever you’re thinking about. 
4. Remove yourself from bed
• If all else fails, get out of bed! Move to the couch and do something low energy and soothing like reading, sudoku or another puzzle, knitting, or meditating. Some light movement like yoga (think: happy baby pose), a gentle self-body massage or warm shower could give you a reset. Doing something with your mind or hands may be exactly what you need to lull you back into a sleepy state so that you can fall asleep faster once you go back to bed.

If poor sleep is keeping you from completing daily activities or feeling your best for weeks on end, then it’s time to make an appointment with your doc ASAP, as you could have an undiagnosed sleep or health condition or have unwanted side effects from current medications.

Written By: Heather Mielke, Founder and CEO, Sleepy Bonez 

The content found within this blog and on www.sleepybonez.com are for informational purposes only. No material on this site is meant to replace medical advice, provide a diagnosis or treatment. Always speak with your primary care physician or other qualified health care professionals before adjusting your health care regimen or making any changes to your daily activities.

Image: Photo by Alexandra Gorn on Unsplash

Sources:

1. Chowdhury, M., "The Neuroscience of Gratitude and How it Affects Anxiety & Grief." PositivePsychology.com, April 7, 2019.

1. Quick, E. K. (2013). Solution focused anxiety management. A treatment and training manual. San Diego, CA: Academic Press Inc.