How can I stop my brain from wandering about at night?

Distract yourself before you go to sleep make sure you tell your brain and let yourself know its time to go to bed now. A glass of warm milk is also great!

There are some fantastic mindfulness and meditation apps available to download or alternatively, you can always find videos to assist you with mindfulness and meditation on YouTube as well. Taking the time out to meditate or practice mindfulness for just 10 minutes every day, whether it be first thing in the morning, the middle of your day or last thing at night in bed can make a significant impact on your wellbeing. It allows you to take a step back from the constant movement of the world around you and focus entirely on yourself and your wellbeing. I would recommend it to anyone, whether they’re facing difficulties falling asleep or just wanting to find a way to step back. It is something I make a consistent effort to to in my daily life, it’s part of my nighttime routine before I fall asleep.

When you catch yourself wandering, first focus on making your breathing deep and slow. Focus on how your breath makes you feel. Try to expand your belly as much as you can with your breaths in, and make your exhalations as long and slow as possible. When you have started to calm yourself, do a body awareness medidation. Send your mental attention to your feet, and slowly bring the awareness of your body up your legs, through your belly, chest, arms, neck and finally your head. Investigate closely how each part of your body feels. Linger your attention at places that feel right. Repeat as needed!

I often try and play different games in my mind to help me. One of my favorites is to just lay there and mentally describe people. I'll start with their physical attribute (like their hair color /length or their height) and then move on to their personality and then their hobbies and then move on to their friends repeating the same process for each one - this can keep your brain distracted from wandering. Another thing I do is recall random facts, by searching my memory to try and find these facts the brain is often too distracted to think of other things.