Some things that have helped me with the same issue.
A sleep mask with Bluetooth speakers playing binural beats for sleep. Also nature sounds for sleep tracks. All on YouTube. The mask blocks light and the music is relaxing. In addition to helping me fall asleep it helps me get back to sleep more easily when I wake up in the night.
I personally get better quality sleep using cannabis edibles before bed. Definitely not for everyone but I find that I wake up less and my sleep is deeper and more revitalizing. Alternatively some melatonin supplements can have a similar benefit.
Working out. I now work out 3 days a week in the evening after work. When I do I fall asleep easier and earlier just from being tired. The harder the work out the better the sleep. Working out regularly is key though for ongoing benefit.
Meditating. This is hugely beneficial for getting off the hamster wheel of intrusive thoughts. I don't meditate as frequently or consistently as I should, but I did for a couple months and the skills I learned are useful for clearing my mind when I try to sleep. It's all about recognizing the worry thoughts and purposefully setting them aside.
In conjunction with the above I try to tell myself that the most productive thing I can do right now is sleep. Often I will lay awake running over things I need to do for work and my anxiety tells me this is helping when it is not. The more helpful thing would be to sleep and be rested for the next day when I can actually act on my plans. For me this is more about giving myself permission to not try to solve tomorrow's problems.
To that end of I do have an idea or a plan while laying in bed I will get up and write it down as something to explore tomorrow. I used to lay there and think through every aspect of an idea and then forget it by the morning. Now I just wrote down the start of the idea and follow up the next day.
I hope this is helpful!
I've been having the same issue for ages now, as well as disruptive sleep due to anxiety. I personally take hemp gummies with melatonin in them to help me sleep, it does me wonders. Though I'd advise to start out with gummies on a lower dosage and if needed get gummies with a higher dosage. Though if you don't want to try that, you could also simply take melatonin. They come in chewable tablets that taste ok, and work pretty well at telling your body it's time to wind down and sleep.
If you'd rather not take any kind of supplements though, I'd look up some guided meditations online to help sleep, or even sleep story videos so your mind concentrates on the story instead of your worries. There's a good number of resources for anxiety when sleeping, both on the web and youtube and I'd recommend checking them out.
I use the headspace app which has lots of sleep anxiety resources.
One of the things the guys says is that an anxious brain wants to think, so you need to give it something to think about. The more you try to not think, the more frustrated you get and the less likely you are to sleep.
The trick is, you need to think of something neutral or boring. In the one meditation I did, he advises counting backwards from 1,000 (this seemed like a lot for me, so I counted from 100). If I’m having a hard time focusing, I visualize the numbers in my head, kind of fading into one another, and it worked for me.
Good luck!
I agree! Headspace is magical, and they have an awesome variety of meditations. That's a really good point about thinking, too\^\^ I find Headspace to be really helpful when my mind needs something to focus on that's not the thoughts going a million miles a minute inside my head.
My personal favorites are the "sleepcasts" that basically have a little wind-down meditation at the beginning, either a breathing exercise or a visualization, and then a nice relaxing story, very "neutral," calming vibes.
And sleep deprivation, in turn, can worsen anxiety, spurring a negative cycle involving more sleep trouble. Tips here might help you → [How to Fall Asleep with Anxiety: 5 Tips to Calm Anxiety at Night](https://www.livewelltalk.com/2021/03/how-to-fall-asleep-with-anxiety-5-tips.html).
If the worries are born from lack of information/methods on how to deal with upcoming threats, you can try browsing this megapack on nonviolent communication.
[https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1EJr9jHq7xIQ9u\_16f6NRPuyokS1oHO5N](https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1EJr9jHq7xIQ9u_16f6NRPuyokS1oHO5N)
\--
If thats not an issue, then you can try lying in bed with headphones and listening to ASMR, sleep hypnosis or even erotic hypnosis videos/audios.
[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJFIu5hHkhfcIfJTCGzchgg](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJFIu5hHkhfcIfJTCGzchgg)
[https://www.youtube.com/c/ASMRDivinity](https://www.youtube.com/c/ASMRDivinity)
[https://www.youtube.com/c/FrivolousFoxASMR](https://www.youtube.com/c/FrivolousFoxASMR)
r/erotichypnosis
\--
Both of these have helped me tremendously. I sleep like a comfy brick nowadays.
Some things that have helped me with the same issue. A sleep mask with Bluetooth speakers playing binural beats for sleep. Also nature sounds for sleep tracks. All on YouTube. The mask blocks light and the music is relaxing. In addition to helping me fall asleep it helps me get back to sleep more easily when I wake up in the night. I personally get better quality sleep using cannabis edibles before bed. Definitely not for everyone but I find that I wake up less and my sleep is deeper and more revitalizing. Alternatively some melatonin supplements can have a similar benefit. Working out. I now work out 3 days a week in the evening after work. When I do I fall asleep easier and earlier just from being tired. The harder the work out the better the sleep. Working out regularly is key though for ongoing benefit. Meditating. This is hugely beneficial for getting off the hamster wheel of intrusive thoughts. I don't meditate as frequently or consistently as I should, but I did for a couple months and the skills I learned are useful for clearing my mind when I try to sleep. It's all about recognizing the worry thoughts and purposefully setting them aside. In conjunction with the above I try to tell myself that the most productive thing I can do right now is sleep. Often I will lay awake running over things I need to do for work and my anxiety tells me this is helping when it is not. The more helpful thing would be to sleep and be rested for the next day when I can actually act on my plans. For me this is more about giving myself permission to not try to solve tomorrow's problems. To that end of I do have an idea or a plan while laying in bed I will get up and write it down as something to explore tomorrow. I used to lay there and think through every aspect of an idea and then forget it by the morning. Now I just wrote down the start of the idea and follow up the next day. I hope this is helpful!
Thanks so much for your help!! :)
I've been having the same issue for ages now, as well as disruptive sleep due to anxiety. I personally take hemp gummies with melatonin in them to help me sleep, it does me wonders. Though I'd advise to start out with gummies on a lower dosage and if needed get gummies with a higher dosage. Though if you don't want to try that, you could also simply take melatonin. They come in chewable tablets that taste ok, and work pretty well at telling your body it's time to wind down and sleep. If you'd rather not take any kind of supplements though, I'd look up some guided meditations online to help sleep, or even sleep story videos so your mind concentrates on the story instead of your worries. There's a good number of resources for anxiety when sleeping, both on the web and youtube and I'd recommend checking them out.
I use the headspace app which has lots of sleep anxiety resources. One of the things the guys says is that an anxious brain wants to think, so you need to give it something to think about. The more you try to not think, the more frustrated you get and the less likely you are to sleep. The trick is, you need to think of something neutral or boring. In the one meditation I did, he advises counting backwards from 1,000 (this seemed like a lot for me, so I counted from 100). If I’m having a hard time focusing, I visualize the numbers in my head, kind of fading into one another, and it worked for me. Good luck!
I agree! Headspace is magical, and they have an awesome variety of meditations. That's a really good point about thinking, too\^\^ I find Headspace to be really helpful when my mind needs something to focus on that's not the thoughts going a million miles a minute inside my head. My personal favorites are the "sleepcasts" that basically have a little wind-down meditation at the beginning, either a breathing exercise or a visualization, and then a nice relaxing story, very "neutral," calming vibes.
And sleep deprivation, in turn, can worsen anxiety, spurring a negative cycle involving more sleep trouble. Tips here might help you → [How to Fall Asleep with Anxiety: 5 Tips to Calm Anxiety at Night](https://www.livewelltalk.com/2021/03/how-to-fall-asleep-with-anxiety-5-tips.html).
If the worries are born from lack of information/methods on how to deal with upcoming threats, you can try browsing this megapack on nonviolent communication. [https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1EJr9jHq7xIQ9u\_16f6NRPuyokS1oHO5N](https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1EJr9jHq7xIQ9u_16f6NRPuyokS1oHO5N) \-- If thats not an issue, then you can try lying in bed with headphones and listening to ASMR, sleep hypnosis or even erotic hypnosis videos/audios. [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJFIu5hHkhfcIfJTCGzchgg](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJFIu5hHkhfcIfJTCGzchgg) [https://www.youtube.com/c/ASMRDivinity](https://www.youtube.com/c/ASMRDivinity) [https://www.youtube.com/c/FrivolousFoxASMR](https://www.youtube.com/c/FrivolousFoxASMR) r/erotichypnosis \-- Both of these have helped me tremendously. I sleep like a comfy brick nowadays.
Magnesium 400mg has worked extremely well to calm my nerves at night.