How many hours of sleep did you get last night?

[Gemme]

For the past couple of weeks, it's been 4-6 hours per night, which is not good for me. I'm a solid 7-8 hours kind of person.

[Orema]

6 hours without melatonin.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

About 9 hours, but broken up by 3 different times of waking up to an alarm to take medications.

[MrSunshine]

Hour on hour up ugh. I wish I slept like a normal person.

[PlatinumPearl]

I slept 6 hours.

[Stone-Butch]

None yet but had some yesterday.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Zero. Here's to hoping tonight will be better.

[Stone-Butch]

Finally got to sleep around 7 and slept till 2 pm.

[Orema]

7.5 hours. Very good. Woke up a few times but was able to go back to sleep easily. Didn’t use melatonin but I did hit the vape thingy before going to sleep.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Maybe three hours total, interrupted multiple times.

[Orema]

6 or 7 hours with lots of tossing and turning.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

According to my new-fangled CPAP machine that sends a "sleep report" to my phone each morning, I slept 7.42 hours, with 0.6 "events" per hour (an event is something that interrupts sleep, like waking up coughing), and taking my mask off (to get up to go to the restroom or whatever) 4 times. I scored 98 out of 100 for perfect sleep (I lost 2 points due to the "events").

[Reach *BANNED*]

I have no idea. What I do know though is that it was not any number of solid hours worth. I cannot remember the last time I slept peacefully and for a good length of time. I am sure I will get there again at some point.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

9 hours and 58 minutes, according to my new CPAP. It's a winner!

[FireSignFemme]

None last night and just two this morning but I must not have needed it because it's just past 7PM and I'm feeling great.

[Orema]

Seven. Woke up midway and watched a couple episodes of United States of Tara. I don’t mind waking up for awhile as long as I can fall back asleep.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

7 hours and 27 minutes. And I scored a 100 for the first time on my CPAP app thingy!

[FireSignFemme]

Only about four. I'm forcing myself to stay awake so hopefully tonight I can get back on track, or at least part way there.

[Gemme]

Five hours again. It's great. Really.

:blink:

[Mel C.]

Five hours again. It's great. Really.

:blink:

I see your 5 and match it...*grumbles about annoying dogs and their excretory systems*

[Blade]

I really don't know but my feet hit the floor at 4:01 and are supposed to hit the floor at 3:15

[Gemme]

I see your 5 and match it...*grumbles about annoying dogs and their excretory systems*

Oh no! Well, that beats my 5. Any kind of pet clean up is good to exchange for an hour.

Annnnd, it was another 5 hour night. Saturday is my early day to get up but I can never get to bed at a decent hour to get sufficient sleep.

[Orema]

Seven with a little help of melatonin.

[FireSignFemme]

A solid 8 thanks to Ambien. Never would have made it to bed, fallen asleep without it.

[espressolover83]

6hrs - I would be happy to get 8hrs again. Can't wait for the weekend so I can sleep in.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

A solid 8 thanks to Ambien. Never would have made it to bed, fallen asleep without it.

You've got that right. That stuff is wonderful. Although it doesn't seem to be working too well for me tonight. So far I've had a fitful 3 hours, and will lie back down in 10 minutes and try again.

[Orema]

Seven hours and could have slept longer.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

13.13 hours. It was the night and day after chemo, so all I wanted to do was sleep, but I also kept having to wake up every few hours to take meds.

[Stone-Butch]

Last night? None. I am on a switch about through no choice of my own and am sleeping most of the days and up all night. My most busy time is around 3 or 4 a.m.

[Orema]

Eight with a little help from melatonin. Woke up midway and watched a few minutes of m’boy Horatio and then back to sleep for couple hours.

[Orema]

Eight with some melatonin. Woke up a lot but was able to easily fall back asleep.

[Stone-Butch]

8 a.m. none since yesterday. This has to stop.

[Gemme]

I don't know exactly. I set the alarm for 8 hours, had a bathroom break in the middle and woke before the alarm and lounged in bed but I didn't check the time so maybe 7 hours? I feel good, so it is definitely more than 6, which is my average lately.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Ten last night, which is more normal for me, maybe even a little on the light side. I have been sleeping 15 hour days for the last week and a half trying to sleep off the chemo.

[Stone-Butch]

For the first night in almost 2 weeks I slept for 7 night hours. I got up at 8 a.m. and am feeling just dandy. I hope this keeps up. I get to see the sun.

[Gemme]

Good for you, Stone!

I got 4 and change.

[Stone-Butch]

Gemme I would love to get by on 4 hours but I think not having proper sleep in the last couple weeks could have given me 7. I am just glad I got it.

By the way, may I suggest your cat might have an allergy with those problems its having. Sometimes it can be one flea bite and the entire animal can get dermatitis over its entire body. A vet can check it out and if that is the problem you can get an allergy shot for itch and also a shot for fleas to keep them off. Just thought I would put in my 2 cents worth.

[Gemme]

Gemme I would love to get by on 4 hours but I think not having proper sleep in the last couple weeks could have given me 7. I am just glad I got it.

By the way, may I suggest your cat might have an allergy with those problems its having. Sometimes it can be one flea bite and the entire animal can get dermatitis over its entire body. A vet can check it out and if that is the problem you can get an allergy shot for itch and also a shot for fleas to keep them off. Just thought I would put in my 2 cents worth.

No fleas. She's having a reaction to either a food or litter change. I change both every few months for one reason or another but never at the same time until now and I think that's what did it. She's had steroids and antibiotics so I'm watching her for the next couple of weeks to see if there's a difference.

For thread compliance, I got almost 5 last night. I'll get more tonight.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

12.5 - I went to bed around 6:30 pm.

[Gemme]

I got almost 7 hours last night!

[Orema]

Slept almost 10 hrs. It felt so good. Woke up mid-way for an hour or so, but fell back to sleep. As usual, I woke up a number of time throughout, but was able to turnover and drift off again. Took my time getting up. Didn't eat till very late. Maybe that had something to do with it. Whatever the case, it was a good slumber.

[Gemme]

Slept almost 10 hrs. It felt so good. Woke up mid-way for an hour or so, but fell back to sleep. As usual, I woke up a number of time throughout, but was able to turnover and drift off again. Took my time getting up. Didn't eat till very late. Maybe that had something to do with it. Whatever the case, it was a good slumber.

I am envious! I've been getting about 5 hours a night this whole week and though I went to bed earlier last night, I guess my system was on auto pilot because I still only got a solid 5 hours.

I better get some sleep tonight or someone's in trouble! :cigar2:

[Stone-Butch]

I would say about 6 and they were night hours so it gave me the day to be out and about.

[Reach *BANNED*]

It seems lately that sleep just decides to visit other people and I am clearly out of the loop. Most nights I will fall asleep but rarely do I sleep through the night. Also, in the past 3 weeks or so.. I have woke up between 2 and 4am and have not been able to go back to sleep. So, last night I think I might have put together 4 total.

[Gemme]

Good news for people of the world! I got a solid 7 hours of rest last night. Death, mayhem and chaos are rescheduled for a TBD date in the future.

[Orema]

3.5. Hours.

Tossed and turned so much I almost made the bed while in the bed.

[JDeere]

Probably 7 and that's not good, for me!

I need more but ive been going and going pretty much since I got to Oklahoma!

[Gemme]

Maybe 5? I woke up and thought that it was time to get up so I grabbed my phone and headed into the bathroom. One washed and moisturized face later, I realized that it wasn't even 5am.

*facepalm*

I got almost another hour of sleep after that but it wasn't what I needed and wasn't what I would have had had I not had my momentary bout with insanity.

Say that last sentence 10x fast. On half a night of sleep.

I dare you. :weightlifter:

[Blade]

Who knows? I've been sleeping day and night all week. I'm clearly going to be a great retiree when the time comes

[Gemme]

Minus the two bathroom breaks, I got a little over 6 hours of sleep. Not bad but I needed more.

[Orema]

Three whole hours. That’s the way it is sometimes.

I play catchup later today.

[Bèsame*]

Heat and stress lead me to 10 hours of solid sleep.

[Orema]

6 hours. Woke up a few times but easily fell back asleep.

Lately when I can't fall back asleep I do an exercise that helps. I alphabetically name cities or states, countries, foods, first or last names, etc. Whatever I can use to create a list.

A-Albany
B-Bay City
C-Cooperstown
D-Detroit
E-...
F-...
G-...

Or

A-Apples
B-Blueberries
C-Cornbread
D-Dumplings
E-...
F-...
G-...

The rules I use that work for me are:


No lingering. Come up with an item name and move on to the next letter.
Do not think about how nice or bad a city is or how you need a spicy recipe for guacamole—none of that, just move on to the next letter or go back to finding a name for the letter you're stuck on.
Do not go to the next letter till you can name an item for the current letter.
No mixing categories on the list. If I start with American cities I stick with American cities. I don't change midstream and add states, countries, cities from another country, food, etc.


It's harder to do than it sounds because you're half asleep. The other night I was listing American cities and was stuck on D, of all letters. I kept thinking of Dorchester which is a neighborhood in Boston, but it's not a city I know of in the U.S. Finally, Detroit came to mind.

Anyway, it works for me and I usually fall back asleep.

:bow:

[Kätzchen]

The other night, I slept about 9 hours. Last night and the night before, I did not sleep well at all. I kept waking up. Tonight, I hope to sleep deeply.

:moonstars:

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Last night, I slept about 12 hours. It was a rainy morning and I just could not convince myself to get out of bed this morning.

[Stone-Butch]

8 hours of blissful sleep during the night for a change.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Just about 8.

[Orema]

Not enough. Woke up in the middle of the night with a cramp in my foot. Took a teaspoon of mustard (thanks, Rocks) but didn't sleep well from expecting the cramp to come back.

I think I need to drink more water and less decaf. Will try that and hope it works.

[Stone-Butch]

Rarely lately do I get to sleep before 3 or 4 a.m. then sleep far too long into the morning or early afternoon. Trying to break this trend but I have always been a night person so I guess enough sleep any time of day is good.

[Stone-Butch]

10 hrs for sure. could be more. Got up and shopped for a few more hours.

[Stone-Butch]

Four so far, tuff night.

[Orema]

7 hours.

Took melatonin on Wednesday night and it was still affecting me on Thursday night.

:seeingstars:

I stopped taking melatonin awhile ago because edibles are usually enough for me these days. I only took melatonin becauase I went to bed without taking an edible and was too lazy to get up, so I took a melatonin that was in the nightstand drawer. Anyway, I'm better now.

Time to make some more edibles because I'm running low. Think I'll give gummie bears another shot. They make it look so easy on youtube.

:bow:

[Stone-Butch]

None !!

Terrible insomnia at times. I will try to sleep again. Almost noon. Darn it. It is a gorgeous day but I won't drive when I am this tired. Oh well. Off I go.

[gurlnextdoor]

Seven.

And two naps ..... dozed off while the kids were playing and some grownups were watching soccer. It was such an exciting game i watched it with my eyes closed!

[deb0670]

about 4-5 hours is the average lately.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Zero. Nada. Zilch. None.

Not even with two sleeping pills. Finally I got up 3 hours early and started the day. Somehow, I was still 15 minutes late for an 11:00 a.m. lunch date. :|

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Zero. Nada. Zilch. None.

Not even with two sleeping pills. Finally I got up 3 hours early and started the day. Somehow, I was still 15 minutes late for an 11:00 a.m. lunch date. :|

Once again, none. I am exhausted. I hope I can get some sleep tonight.

[Blade]

Well it isn't really last night yet, but I slept about 2 hrs and Mom called and woke me at 11 to come help her get Daddy off the floor. I'm back home now and wide awake and 3 a.m. is coming quickly. So I'm going to say I got 2 hrs sleep.

[Gemme]

3.5 one night and 3 the next. I gotta get some sleep tonight or I'll need bail money tomorrow.

:vigil:

[GeorgiaMa'am]

10.5 delicious hours of sleep

[Orema]

Seven good hours.

I ate about a 1/4 teaspoon of canna-oil before bed, didn’t use any canna-salve on the arthritic areas, and listened to Ocean Waves (thanks Alexa) while falling asleep.

Unfortunately, I’ve been going to bed at 8-ish and waking up at 3-ish. Will work on changing this schedule over the weekend.

Still, I’m well rested and looking forward to a good day.

:bow:

[Kätzchen]

11 hours of sleep (canna butter is the best med ever).


I feel amazing today as I head into my top-heavy weekend of duties with clients at work.

:hk20:

[Bèsame*]

8 hours of well rested sleep. I easily fall asleep, must be my good DNA ..LOL....it's me being stubborn and not going to bed.

Added plus no alarms throughout the entire weekend! Yay me. And...this is really unheard of during Christmas retail! Feeling lucky and rested!!!

[Stone-Butch]

For a limited few days I have had 8 or more all night sleep and it is wonderful to be awake during the day.

[Gemme]

2.5 hours last night.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Twelve hours. I was just completely unmotivated to get up this morning, so I rolled over and went back to sleep.

[FireSignFemme]

None, but I'm feeling ready to drop now. Fortunately I don't have any appointments, any other place I need to be today so nothing to keep me from sleeping in.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

About 12, but I was constantly being woken up by coughing.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Twelve lovely hours. I did get up once around 3 a.m. and look out the window for snow. (None to be seen.)

[Gemme]

5 and change last night.

[Orema]

About 5. Lots of tossing turning and listening to the wind.

I like falling asleep to ocean waves and going through an alphabetical list helps me fall back asleep when I wake up. This weeks lists are movies.

I might get another couple hours of sleep before getting up for the day.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Seven. I was going to take a nap after breakfast, but I started puttering around and just finished. Now it's too late - guest arriving any minute!

[FireSignFemme]

Seven but it was broken so it feels like three.

[Kätzchen]

I think I got about 9 hours of sleep. :moonstars:

Felt so good to not be disturbed or woken up on accident due to noisy neighbors.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

About 5. Oddly, I'm having trouble falling asleep for a nap this afternoon.

[Gemme]

I like falling asleep to ocean waves and going through an alphabetical list helps me fall back asleep when I wake up. This weeks lists are movies.


I like the sound of waves against the shore but listening to actual waves triggers my overactive bladder and I wind up going to the bathroom 2-3 times during the night and not getting enough REM sleep when I play actual water sounds. Instead, I found a lady on the clock app that uses a furry mic. She blows on it and rubs it with her hands and it sounds enough like waves that I sleep like a milk drunk baby when I play it.

I gave myself the present of not setting an alarm and I set up that wave video to play all night. I slept over 9 hours. I cannot even remember when I slept that long in one stretch. It felt soooo good when I got up.

[Gemme]

IF I can get into bed in the next 10 minutes and IF I can stay asleep the whole time, I'll get 5 hours and 15 minutes of sleep. Ready....set....go!!!

[Orema]

7 and it feels like more. Feeling well rested. Didn’t need any lists to fall back asleep through the night. The Smart-Technology Goddess suggested I try the jungle sounds but I passed on that. Ocean waves and rain storms are my speed.

[FireSignFemme]

Bits and parts of pieces of hours here and there put together added up, I'd say about 3 ½. I'm on a medication right now that I have to take four times a day so to make sure I start my day off right J wakes me up every morning at 7:30 – let the games begin! Then she'll call the other three times to make I've taken it/remind me to take it. In between all that, at least once or twice she'll call or text to remind me about something she forgot to tell me or ask me to help her remember something she forgot. Then at least once a day my grandson will want to speak to me and if he doesn't remember to during one of our calls then later J will agree to let him call me so long as he agrees directly after he will, without struggle or complaint, go down for a nap or bed for the night. I'm grateful to have medication, family members who care and plenty of time to just relax and take it easy till these drugs start kicking in but it will be so nice to finally get some unbroken, uninterrupted sleep!

[Gemme]

Not nearly enough and here I am, at 1:30 in the morning. Bah.

[Orema]

A lot. 8 hours. I was tired and went to bed early. Didn't take an edible nor melatonin because I was achy and used a lot of canna-salve (https://homesteadandchill.com/how-to-make-cannabis-salve/https://homesteadandchill.com/how-to-make-cannabis-salve/) for my arthritis. Unfortunately, I was awake at 3 am. I'll need to work on having a better schedule, but it's all good for now.

[Orema]

8 hours. Have been getting 8 hours most nights. I wake up, do a bit of tossing and turning, but easily fall back asleep. I no longer need the knee pillow and that helps a lot.

[Glenn]

Down sometime @ 2 a.m. Up @ 9 a.m.
7.

[Gemme]

Never enough.

[Kätzchen]

Being massively in love really messes with our sleep life.
There is just never enough time for us.
I feel drunk all the time, lol.


I need some sleep, though. :balloon:

[JDeere]

9 but i need more

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Six. I've started taking 5 mg of Melatonin along with my other nighttime meds, and I haven't quite figured out how to do that yet. I'd hoped I was going to be able to give up one of my prescription sleeping meds, but no. When I get the combination with Melatonin right, I have lovely, peaceful sleep; unlike the dozing and vague awareness of the room around me and night sounds like I've been having. My doc has done all he can with my prescription meds, so I thought I'd give Melatonin a try.

Does anyone else take Melatonin along with Ambien and/or Klonopin or any other sleeping or anti-anxiety meds? I'd be really interested in your experience and results.

[clay]

Six. I've started taking 5 mg of Melatonin along with my other nighttime meds, and I haven't quite figured out how to do that yet. I'd hoped I was going to be able to give up one of my prescription sleeping meds, but no. When I get the combination with Melatonin right, I have lovely, peaceful sleep; unlike the dozing and vague awareness of the room around me and night sounds like I've been having. My doc has done all he can with my prescription meds, so I thought I'd give Melatonin a try.

Does anyone else take Melatonin along with Ambien and/or Klonopin or any other sleeping or anti-anxiety meds? I'd be really interested in your experience and results.


I am on tizanidine ( a muscle relaxer) 2 tabs at night, as my rheumo says if your muscles can't relax, your body can't. I do NOT do any social media the last 3 hrs prior to sleep!

I do a puzzle game! I have taken to taking my Tizanidine, a 25 mg Diphenhydramine (Benadryl), and my pain med (Dilaudid for severe pain) & Tramaol for less severe pain! It has worked. I was just "dozing" then awake for a few hours, dozing......I am not much help on your own regimen, but the Melatonin BiLayer works well for me. It has some benadryl in it, is a 5 mg tabs. Best of luck!!

[GeorgiaMa'am]

I am on tizanidine ( a muscle relaxer) 2 tabs at night, as my rheumo says if your muscles can't relax, your body can't. I do NOT do any social media the last 3 hrs prior to sleep!

I do a puzzle game! I have taken to taking my Tizanidine, a 25 mg Diphenhydramine (Benadryl), and my pain med (Dilaudid for severe pain) & Tramaol for less severe pain! It has worked. I was just "dozing" then awake for a few hours, dozing......I am not much help on your own regimen, but the Melatonin BiLayer works well for me. It has some benadryl in it, is a 5 mg tabs. Best of luck!!

Thanks for the info - I will try Benadryl next. I have taken 10 mg Melatonin, 5 mg Ambien, 1 mg Klonopin and I have not gotten one single minute of sleep, and it is almost 5 am! Actually, I'm pretty sure I can't sleep because I can't get comfortable - thunderstorms are supposed to start in a few hours. I've already taken everything I can for pain - 75 mg Diclofenac plus Diclofenac gel for my knees, and 2 extra strength Tylenol. I'm plenty sleepy.

On second thought, Benadryl will just make me sleepier and not do anything for the discomfort in my joints. I might as well go ahead and get up. I have to take a Synthroid and wait an hour for anything else except water, but then I can have a couple of BC powders. Maybe after that and breakfast and taking care of the doggo I can get a nap.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

About two hours. Waiting for the Tylenol to kick in.

[FireSignFemme]

Three, hurt hand making sleep difficult but things are improving. I can now bend middle finger well enough to flip people off.

[Orema]

Who knows? 4 or maybe 5 or maybe 3. Nighttime sleep is a mutha for me these days. That's the worst part of the knee replacement surgery. I stay tossin' and turnin'.

At its worst, the knees are numb, hurting, stiff, twinging (that's the best way to describe it), and itching—all at the same time and it happens the most at night. It's healing and I get it, but it ain't easy.

Still, I feel a gazillion times better than I did before surgery.

And I take a nap on most days. That helps.

[Orema]

7 good hours. Took 5 mg of melatonin and it did the trick. Haven't been taking any sleeping aid while I'm on a new medication for a slowly degenerating spine. The meds make me a little tired and I thought they may help me sleep. Nope. Not at all. Was waking up at 1 am and falling back asleep at 3 am.

I prefer the cannabis more than the melatonin, but I need to make a new canna oil batch. Will get to that soon.

Hoping everyone is getting a good night's rest.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

17, with a break for breakfast somewhere in there. I must have been exhausted. I haven't been sleeping over about 10 for awhile.

[Kätzchen]

Not much lately …. But at least 6 and a half hours. :moonstars:

[Orema]

Overthinking at night? 6 strategies for better sleep.

Use a soothing distractor, schedule worry time and examine buried feelings — these and other tools can help settle your mind

Advice by Lisa Strauss
August 18, 2023 at 6:00 a.m. EDT

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/ASWLDUJFEZAABEUUUTEZQSNTWE.jpg&w=916
(Celia Jacobs for The Washington Post)

Overthinking at night — about insomnia (https://doi.org/10.5664%2Fjcsm.2752) and other matters — is a common problem for many of my patients with sleep disorders. It interferes with falling asleep or going back to sleep, and prevents peaceful rest when they can’t sleep anyway.

Overthinking usually refers to thought processes such as racing thoughts or perseveration. The content — such as worries or the next day’s demands — may also be maladaptive. It may be fueled by a diagnosable condition such as depression, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or hypomania. It can also be stimulated by intense experiences such as stress, exciting plans, perfectionism, insecurity, caffeine use or a painful or worrisome life event.

There are many psychological tools to help with overthinking, but two people with comparable struggles may not benefit from or prefer the same tools. We insomnia specialists try to have available sizable and diverse tool kits that address cause or manifestation without sacrificing specificity.

Irrespective of tools, there are some general principles that may help with overthinking:

Suppressing unwanted thoughts (https://psychcentral.com/blog/unwanted-thoughts-dont-try-to-suppress-them#1) may make them more determined, and they can come roaring back. Good techniques allow us to coexist peaceably with our thoughts.
At night, it is best to use simple, calming techniques that do not re-litigate the content of our concerns.
Issues that inflame overthinking — such as overwork, too little support, isolation, guilt, mental health concerns and insufficient exercise — matter. Why are you overthinking? What do you need more or less of in your life? These questions are best addressed during the day or early evening.
Engaging in abundant negative or anxious thinking can condition unwanted habits of mind. The Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh cautions us to be careful which plants we water over and over (https://amzn.to/3KDOB6d) in our minds. These are the plants that will grow big and strong and, in turn, demand more care and feeding.

One of my patients was a caring partner, mother and friend, and successful in a meaningful and demanding career. She had a child with mental health challenges and would lie awake at night worrying, questioning her own actions and gaming out possible scenarios.

The thinking was unconstructive and interfered with rest and sleep. Talking through her feelings of helplessness and fear was important. I also offered her some strategies that helped. Here are some of them:

Use a soothing distractor

During periods of insomnia, turn to more soothing thoughts to compete with your default thoughts. The human mind cannot entertain two narratives simultaneously.

Listen to peaceful audio books, podcasts or conversational radio programs, or read calming stories or books (with the light very dim and blue-blocked). Each time the unwanted thoughts arise, don’t push them away. Let them recede into the background and gently return your attention to your soothing distractor.

If interior techniques such as visualizations last long enough for you (they don’t for many people), walk through a calming and pleasant memory such as a vacation or the rooms of your grandmother’s house. Don’t choose a distractor that would keep you up, and don’t focus on sleep as a goal while using it.

Schedule worry time

This is, at most, a 30-minute technique (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psy-curious/201909/surprising-way-manage-worrying) that should be used in the early evening, after the stressful part of the day but hours before sleep in case it leaves some residue of stress or worry.

By facing problems constructively, they are less likely to plague us at night. This technique also teaches us to tolerate not acting or ruminating when it isn’t time.

List all your worries and stressors. For each one, ask yourself: Is there anything I can do about this in the next two weeks (even if I can’t completely resolve the issue)? If yes, what can you do and precisely when will you do it? Action steps should mitigate either the problem itself, such as working out a payment plan for an overdue bill, or its emotional effect, such as reminding oneself that more income-generating work is forthcoming.

Update the list each evening and continue with the action steps until you no longer need the technique.

Give yourself a few optional minutes each evening to think any way you’d like about the items on the list. The rest of the day and night, when the thoughts arise, say, “Not now; I’ll get to you during my scheduled worry time.” If you have determined that there is nothing to be done about a certain problem, when thoughts about it arise, remind yourself that there is nothing to do.

Try exposure therapy for thoughts

This is a daytime technique. Variants are used for the thoughts that can accompany OCD (https://ocdla.com/imaginal-exposure-ocd-anxiety-4847), but I teach it for preoccupying thoughts more generally.

Take a few days to list your recurrent negative and anxious thoughts.
Record them into the audio recorder on your phone or computer three times in a singular long recording.
The first time, recite the thoughts in the tone in which they naturally pop into your head.
The second time, exaggerate that tone.
The third time, make the tone absurd.
Listen to the recording on a loop for an hour a day while you are doing something else such as playing a computer game that doesn’t involve words or sound, or cleaning up.

You may feel a bit worse at first (and you can always abandon the technique if you need to). After several days, though, the recording should become boring and repetitive background noise such that when the thoughts arise in the privacy of your head, they are easily relegated to the background.

Examine overlooked feelings

This is a technique for getting in touch with buried feelings. I suggest it especially to those who are preternaturally competent and stoical, rarely letting themselves feel vulnerable. The feelings may catch up with them at night in the form of distress and overthinking.

Early morning is a nice, quiet time for getting in touch with underattended feelings. It is a listening task, not a thinking task.

Prompt yourself with half sentences such as: “What I’m scared of is” or “What I’m sad about is” or “What I’m disappointed by is” or “What I feel ashamed about is” or “What I regret is” or “What I’ve been most traumatized by is.” Pick a few half-sentences per sitting. Commit to thoughtfully addressing what arises at a later time (not at night).

Think rationally

Cognitive-therapy techniques invite us to bring rational thinking — for instance, evidence for and against, and correction of cognitive distortions — to bear on our assumptions.

These can be excellent tools during the day for reappraising our worries and other upsetting thoughts. For example, if you are worrying about something, ask yourself what are the worst, best and most likely outcomes (https://cogbtherapy.com/cbt-blog/5-steps-to-stop-worrying), in that order.

Self-soothe

Underneath the rational layer, there can be a primally frightened part of us. Children don’t ask their parents for proof of their soothing assertions or ask what qualifies them to make those assertions; they bask in the soothing.

Cultivate more soothing language and a kinder tone toward yourself (day and night), and try to believe yourself. There are many other strategies for self-soothing (https://positivepsychology.com/self-soothing/) as well.

I have written previously about repeatedly observing one’s own overthinking to cultivate self-awareness and establish a competing habit of mind. There are many other useful techniques — from meditation to journaling to wind-down time to relaxation techniques such as breathing to slow your thoughts and Yoga Nidra (https://insighttimer.com/jenniferpiercy/guided-meditations/yoga-nidra-for-sleep) to keeping a pad of paper bedside (to be used very sparingly) for jotting down things you want to remember tomorrow to worry exposure (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/behaviour-change/article/abs/towards-a-unified-worry-exposure-protocol-for-generalised-anxiety-disorder-a-pilot-study/E9A9BC9D696C9C47CB409E29EEA1CAF4).

I hope some of my suggested techniques offer you a great start and help you reduce or eliminate overthinking and get restful sleep.

Lisa Strauss, PhD, is a clinical psychologist in private practice in the Boston area. She specializes in sleep disorders.

We welcome your comments on this column at OnYourMind@washpost.com.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/08/18/overthinking-insomnia-worry-sleep-strategies/

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Eight hours

[kittygrrl]

three ....

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Fourteen. I was so tired when I woke up at the regular time, I couldn't keep my eyes open and fell back asleep.

[Gemme]

I got nearly 8 in and then lounged in bed for another hour or so, just enjoying not being upright.

[Blade]

Crazy thing...I won a fitbit a few weeks ago. At this point the most valuable thing on it is my sleep patterns and times. I average 4.5 to 5 hrs a night.