There are few things more frustrating than waking up wide awake in the middle of the night and not being able to go back to sleep. Your brain knows that you need to rest before another busy day, but your body just won’t cooperate.
Next time, instead of tossing and turning and becoming more and more frustrated, turn on your reading light, reach for your personal journal and pick up a pen to outsmart insomnia.
Journaling Exercises to Help You Sleep
1. Sometimes all you need to do is help your mind relax so you can get back to that sleepy state. Start by doing some free-writing about anything that comes to mind. Write about what your bedroom looks like at this hour or how your body feels when you wake up or what you had for dinner last night. Just keep your pen moving at a steady rhythm (often, after a few minutes of this, you will find yourself nodding off and you can go back to sleep).
2. If you are still awake, try pinpointing what it is that woke you up in the first place. Are you worried or stressed about something in your personal or work life? Is there a big deadline looming or did you have a fight with a loved one? Do you sometimes struggle with anxiety and find yourself worrying about bigger issues, such as money, health or the future in general?
Tell your personal journal what is bothering you, as if you were sharing with an old friend. Don’t try to solve anything right now, just put your worries down on paper so you can get them out of your head.
3. Now say goodnight to your journal and to your insomnia. Write down your intention for the rest of the night; for example:
Good night, thanks for listening to me. I’m going back to sleep now, and I will sleep soundly through the rest of the night. I can deal with what’s bothering me in the morning, but I need my sleep to do so.
4. Turn off the light and get some sleep!
Journaling will help you improve your self-talk and learn to focus your brain on helping your body into bed so it can do its absolutely necessary nightly healing. How have you used Journaling to catch more ZZZZs? I’m sure many, many people would love to hear your tips.
Still time to Sign up for the 27 Days Self-Discovery Journaling Challenge, which starts this Monday, April 2.
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