Is Your Brain Keeping You Up at Night? Tips for Making Peace with Your Brain After Dark

It's past 10:00 pm. You slide into a freshly made bed, turn off the light, close your eyes, and start drifting off to sleep.

A few minutes later, you're wide awake. Your eyes are open and staring at the red, glowing numbers on the digital clock sitting on your bedside table. You turn over and adjust your body to a new position, hoping that will bring back the sleepiness you felt before it happened--your brain is galloping all over the place with thoughts that never entered your mind all day long!

Trying to will your brain to settle down is futile. In fact, the more you fight this invasion of thoughts, the more agitated you become. Why can't you stop replaying the day's events in your mind over and over again? Why are you thinking about something that happened months ago? How do you make your brain go to sleep when you are exhausted?

Life is a Bowl of Cherries--Most of the Time

The main reason your brain is hyperactive at night is stress. When you are experiencing stress, your body releases a hormone called cortisol that increases alertness and wakefulness. Sometimes, all it takes is a minor stressful event to boost your cortisol levels enough to provoke racing thoughts at bedtime.

You may have forgotten about a driver pulling out in front of you at some point during the day, or going to the grocery store and leaving your list at home. Perhaps a relative called and complained about something you didn't think was that big of a deal. Any one of these trivial stressors could be the cause of an overactive brain that keeps you awake at night.

3 Tips for Calming Your Mind After Dark

Turn off the cell phone, iPad, or laptop. It doesn't matter if you turn down the light intensity on a digital device, the screen will still emit some type of blue light that disturbs your sleep cycle.

Don't keep tossing and turning. Get out of bed and do something that distracts you from worrying and feeling anxious. If it's warm, sit on your porch for a while and breathe deeply and rhythmically. Run a warm (not hot) bubble bath, light a few candles, and let yourself enjoy the nighttime quiet. Work on a crossword or word search puzzle at the kitchen table under dim lighting. Read one of your favorite books again. Do whatever you enjoy doing that is soothing for you.

Don't fight with your brain. Lying in bed and yelling at your brain to stop! never works. You'll likely become more agitated and end up getting little sleep. Some people find that just allowing their thoughts to continue racing without resisting them works to calm their minds.

Finally, if an active nighttime brain continues to interfere with getting a good night's sleep, you might consider making a visit to your doctor for a check-up.

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