Experts say: this is why you fret so much at night
And this is how you get rid of it
You have just settled down, ready for a single ticket to dreamland; suddenly your head goes into turbo mode. All kinds of thoughts race by and before you know it, you're precious for another couple of hours sleep lost. Lying awake worrying is quite frustrating, yet, according to healthcare psychologist Sanne Winchester, it is not surprising that the switch in your head is turned on at night. And, more importantly, there are several solutions to do switch off completely.
Lights off, brooding on
An important first lesson: fretting does not always have to be negative. Thinking about how you are going to cope with a busy working day and running through different scenarios can actually be very useful. It only becomes a problem when you aimlessly keep repeating situations in your head and mainly focus on the things that went wrong or can still go wrong. After all, brooding often involves moments from the past or just in the future. According to Winchester, there is a simple reason why you start doing this precisely in bed. “Mulling is a cognitive process that requires energy and attention. During the day, you are constantly busy and have little space left to mull. At night it is quiet and dark, leaving little to interrupt your thoughts.‘ So at the end of the day, you still take a moment for some reflection; after all, everything that has happened is still fresh in your mind then. In winter, this can all get a step worse. The days are darker and you have less social contact, which can intensify brooding, according to Winchester.
What to do?
Once you start fretting, stopping it seems almost impossible. You just resign yourself to a shorter night. Yet, according to Winchester, that's not necessary at all. There are, thankfully, several tricks that can help you get out of that loop of brooding thoughts.
1. Be aware and take action
The first step in solving a problem is to realise that something is wrong. So being able to notice that brooding prevents you from sleeping already brings you a bit closer to the solution. In fact, from that moment you can start looking for distractions. With breathing exercises, for instance, or by reading a book, you can let go of the brooding thoughts and really get to sleep. rest to come.
2. Write down your thoughts
While brooding, thoughts sometimes get so stuck in your head that you can hardly let them go. According to Winchester, it can therefore help to put a notebook on your bedside table. This way, you can write down your worries so you can get rid of them, at least for a while. The next morning, rested, you can then pick them up again to find a solution.
3. Answer those ‘what if’ questions
Among all those endless thoughts, there is often one that recurs in every scenario: what if? You get into a negative spiral that suddenly makes situations seem a lot more intense and dramatic than they actually are. It is then just right to answer that one question for once. What is really the worst thing that can happen? You will often find that when we stop our imagination for a moment and be realistic, it is not that bad.
4. Use mindfulness
For example, imagine that all those annoying thoughts are actually just clouds floating by. Try to observe them, without doing anything else with them. You see them coming, but also going again. It might sometimes feel a bit floaty, but this kind of mindfulness exercise can really help you get out of that brooding. There are many different variations, so you can decide what suits you. You take a break from your negative thoughts to really let go of the day and finally get a good night's sleep.
Source: Women's Health | Image: @li_bash
