Its the middle of the night and you know you should be sleeping, but you cant.
Ive had my share of those nights, and theyre the worst.
It doesnt even have to be something serious thats keeping you awake, either.
Sometimes its small; a snide comment or the assertion that youre not doing your job well.
Im willing to bet youve been there too.
Doing something else for a little while will help you shake it off.
This is more important than it sounds.
The longer you stay in bed, the more you risk tossing and turning all night.
When this happens, your body stops recognizing your bed as a restful space.
Walk around a bit.
Make a cup of tea or pour a glass of water.
Do something refreshing that shakes the funk you were in while you were replaying the events of the day.
Its no panacea, but it breaks the cycle, and thats a critical starting point.
Do something meditative that isnt (necessarily) meditation.
For some people, meditation is a great way toclear your mind and focus on somethingthatisntstressing you out.
If that works for you, great:nows a good time to meditate.
If not, nows not the time to try and learn.
If you have some busywork around the house to do, nows a good time to do it.
Fire up your backlog of podcasts or audiobooks and let the dulcet tones ofThis American Lifelull you to sleep.
Try a podcast likeSleep With Me, which is specifically designed to help you relax and get some rest.
give a shot to choose something thats interesting and thoughtful, but not too stimulating.
Its common advice for healthy sleep, but its important here too.
In general, its a bad idea.
If you might, try tostick to an e-ink tabletlike a Kindle or a Nook.
Both tweak your displays color temperature to be easy on the eyes depending on the time of day.
None of these are perfect solutions, but well be realistic here.
Its okayjust confirm you give yourself the best possible chance at restful sleep once youve calmed back down.
Wed suggest waiting until youve tried more traditional methods to see if you could de-stress on your own.
This is especially important if youre tossing and turning at 3am and you gotta be up by 8am.
Youll feel awful and lethargic for a good portion of the day.
Theyll help you sleep, but they wont do much about your stress.
confirm you read the ingredients thoroughly too,many brand names have similar labels but different active ingredients.
Some coworkers might think youre an overachiever.
Your friends might think youre mental.
Sleepless nights suck, but you cant solve everything at 3am.
Doing so comes with real sacrifices in sanity, and even more sleepless nights.
Better yet, write down how you plan to talk to your friend in person.
Avoid it if at all possible and do something elseanything else.
The break the next morning is nice, too.
Your sanity is worth it.
Illustration by Jim Cooke.
