How do I stop over thinking at night?

Overthinking can be really exhausting, especially when we are already tired at night and have little resources to analyze those thoughts. Sometimes we might think about the tasks we just finished or that are due tomorrow, or it might be about how we felt at a particular point in our day. One of the things that I feel have helped me or might help someone else is taking some time to reflect actively on the day before going to bed. This can be in the form of a short mindfulness meditation where we just sit and do nothing. To get back to the present, how we are feeling and give our brains some buffer to get out of that thinking about the past or future and be here now. One other thing that can help is journaling about the day. Once we write down our thoughts or task list, (basically anything that might be causing overthinking) it might help to put the thoughts out of our mind and onto the paper. When we get some time between our day and our sleeping/night time, it can prepare our mind to be ready to sleep. This is something that works for me.

I understand how this can be challenging. Nights when you're trying to rest and sleep are also when the mind decides to go nuts and start thinking the most random thoughts. I find that the best solution is to firstly, calm yourself down. Focus on breathing deeply and channeling your bad/ intrusive thoughts out of your head and good thoughts in. Try taking a step back and thinking about how you fix the problem or work towards dissolving your anxiety. Try meditating or focusing on another activity like drinking water or stretching. Try to stay present and remind yourself that your fears and anxieties are solvable and look at the bigger picture.

There are a few tricks I would like to suggest. Go with whatever floats your boat. 1. A hot bath before bed. 2.Read few pages of books. 3. Take a small walk before sleep. 4. Avoid intoxication and digital screens. 6. Avoid heavy meal before bed. 7. Listen to soothing music (classical/binaural). 8. If you can't stop your thoughts and just keep changing your sides but can't sleep, get up and do some small task and give one more try. 9. Pray before getting into bed. Be grateful. 10. Get a professional help rather than relying on online information. Everyone is unique because of their experiences.

There are many ways by which you can control your wandering mind. One way is to meditate, though that may be a medium to long term solution. So if you are looking for an immediate solution to your issue that may not be the way to go. But that's something you can work on, since meditation is probably one of the best options out there. However, you are looking for a short term solution, then you need to distract your mind. Watch Netflix, read a book, play games, basically things that could keep your eyes and ears occupied. I like to watch Netflix to calm and distract my mind, and usually I play tv shows which I have watched before so while it keeps my mind occupied, it also doesn't demand much processing power from my brain, enabling me to get some sleep as well. Hope this helps.

Over thinking is a serious problem sometimes, at night especially. Sometimes we can't shut off our brains and lose sleep over it. The greatest thing about overthinking is that sometimes we can make decisions, and that's good. But overall, over thinking negatively impacts us to lose sleep and think WAY too much. First, start by trying to do some deep breathing and other calming things to make you calm down. If it helps, take a Nyquil or Xyzal to help you sleep. Otherwise, sit in bed and think of nothing, it can be helpful to clear your mind before sleep hits. Look up some foods that can make you sleepy online, too. You'd be surprised at what foods can make you sleepy. Take care!!