Tired but can`t sleep!

[BlueEyesShining]

As the title says i`m so tired but i feel the need to stay awake to overthink everything. Because i feel "safer" that way, thinking that i will prevent bad things from happening if i worry! i know i doesn`t make sense. I can`t make myself go to sleep as i constantly read on Google about things that i worry about and my mind seems to be so loud especially at night. Everyone at home is sleeping now and i`m all alone, left with my thoughts. I need help.

[Ditapage]

This was my situation too. You have to force yourself to do anything besides Google. A good movie, a book, writing, anything. The light of a screen however will trick your brain into thinking its day time and it won't produce melatonin and you won't be able to sleep. It's a horrible feeling, I know. I needed medication to make me drowsy and fall asleep but I didn't want it anymore so I told myself this is it--- night times are for relaxing. I noticed a huge difference in getting off computer/iPhone several hours before bed.

I know it's hard! But you owe it yourself and your busy mind to let night times be a time of winding down. Out of curiosity, do you have any coffee or tea at night? I was having tea because it made me feel comforted but it was doing more harm than good. Caffeine will keep you awake. Therapist told me only warm milk or chamomile tea.

As for the loud mind, I wrote down all the loud thoughts on paper and said "I'll resume thinking about that tomorrow." Sleep is so important..anxiety tries to rob us off it because then we will be even less prepared to cope with the anxiety. also Google is bad bad bad. I don't know what you're looking up but it helped me to start looking up things unrelated to health and worry and anything that would trigger it. I discovered I have friends googling "cute animal pictures" and here I was googling stroke and aneurysm! It's just silly. Made me realise there's lots of other things to look up that will distract us without causing panic. My therapist made me research Las Vegas on google and write her an essay on it! We really have this amazing library of info at our fingertips and we can decide to research things that are exciting and happy and interesting.

It's the only way.

[BlueEyesShining]

Hello Ditapage.

Thank you for your response. Yes, i drink coffe but not right before bedtime. more like 3-4 hours before that, and i drink up to 3 cups of strong coffee through the day. It`s a habit that i can`t get rid of.
I have health anxiety so now you know what i look up on Google. It`s so hard to break that habit too. But i also worry about everyday things not only about illnesses. I`m a constant worrier.

[Greenman50]

Have you tried listening to binural beats and sleep therapy videos on you tube ?

You only need to play them very low with stereo ear phones on .

Do a google search on it plus delta waves , it sounds stupid but it does work and will give you something more positive to google about .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-6Kt-0MSMY



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[swgrl09]

I have found that reading something that I find interesting, but not TOO interesting (because then I'll stay awake wanting to know what happens) helps me sleep. I can't spend time on my phone or computer right before bed, because as another poster said, the screen activates your brain. But reading helps me focus and drift off.

I also try to have a good half hour to wind down - get in pajamas, maybe stretch out and meditate, brush my teeth, and relax in bed - before I expect to fall asleep. Lavender aromatherapy has been helpful too.

---------- Post added at 12:12 ---------- Previous post was at 12:12 ----------

Another trick is to write down all your worries in a journal before bed (like an hour before) and then you know you won't forget them, they will be there waiting for you in the AM but no need to think about them now.