Let's Sleep At Night Is Getting More Nyenyak, Here Are Tips To Calm Your Mind

Illustration (Karolina Grabowska/Pexels)

JAKARTA - Sometimes the desire to rest well after a day of activities is hindered by the thoughts that arise and cause anxiety after putting your body on the bed and putting your head on the pillow.

As quoted on the Well and Good page on Thursday, March 28, Allied psychiatrist Sharma, MD, co-founder and chief medical officer of Being Health's mental health facility, said that many people experience obsessive, fast thoughts, and never lose while trying to sleep.

The emergence of such thoughts could be symptoms of mental health conditions such as general anxiety disorders, ADHD, or bipolar disorders, but experts say that anyone could experience them.

"To be sure, people who have a racing mind or think before bed usually experience a form of anxiety, but that doesn't have to be at clinical level," said clinical psychologist and sleep specialist Michael Breus, PhD.

Stress and a large number of activities and disturbances outside during the day can make the mind busy and a fast race at night.

"People are often so busy that (nighttime) is the first time in a day for them to stop and think," said Breus.

Sharma said that many people don't have time to think and process what happens during the day because of their many tasks and responsibilities, so that the mind becomes a race at night, when no one needs special attention or focus.

Psychedelics, prescription drugs, alcohol, and marijuana, according to him, can also make the mind race like caffeine and nicotine. Consumption of many energy drinks, according to Breus, is also in the form of a similar effect.

Clinical psychologist Kate Kaplan, PhD of Stanford University School of Medicine, said that even when you are not busy or stressed due to outside stress during the day, the mind can race at night because of the tendency of people to spend time with distraction from outside that is busy with thoughts.

One way that can be done to help prevent the mind from racing at night is to set a routine sleep time. Doing the same thing before bed every night signals to the brain that it is time to rest, so that the body can fall asleep more easily.

Kaplan said that doing calm and fun routine activities before bedtime can also help. Avoid too much stimulation by stopping using a cell phone and laptop and turning off the TV, bathing or bathing with warm water, doing skin care routines, and enjoying a cup of tea can help bring peace of mind before bed.

Clinical psychologist Nicole Short, PhD, from the University of Nevada said behavior from morning to evening also affected during night sleep.

"People have to make sure they wake up at the same time every morning, use their beds just to sleep (and not other activities), and avoid naps if they are not tired at night," he said.

Doing light exercise at least three hours before bed or starting a day with strenuous exercise will make the body tired so that it is easy to fall asleep at night. Because thoughts racing at night are often caused by neglecting stressful moments throughout the day, Sharma suggests detecting the emergence of concerns and trying to overcome them during the day.

Short conveyed the need to set aside at least 20 minutes during the day to think about the concerns that arise so as not to stay at night. In addition, Sharma suggests adding activities that can help raise awareness to reduce the intensity of the mind at night.

" Taking a long breath and relaxation is a great way to decompress as meditation and yoga," Sharma said.

"If everything fails and after 15 or 20 minutes still finds themselves unable to sleep, the best action you can take is to wake up to do fun activities for a moment," said Short.

He suggests moving to a sofa or chair that is comfortable and reading a book or doing something calming in the dim light for 10 to 30 minutes.

"Then try to return to bed so you feel sleepy," he said.

If a racing mind appears in a few nights a week and interferes with daily activities, he continues, then he should immediately consult a doctor.