Waking up at night with your mind racing, worried about what you heard on the news, worried about the future, and other negative thoughts rob many people of sleep.

Here are some strategies to help you control your anxiety and reclaim your rest.

Get out of bed

Staying in bed hoping that you’ll fall back asleep tends to do more harm than good and can leave you subconsciously associating being in bed with being awake. If you don’t start falling back asleep in 20 to 30 minutes, you should get up and go into a different room and do something to relax you until you’re sleepy again. This is important to keep negative thoughts out of the bedroom.

Worry before bed

Allocate a 20-minute worry time at around 8 or 9 pm where you think about all the reasons you might feel anxious. Write down these thoughts and worries as they come to you. It’s a great therapeutic technique to get things down on paper; it helps you to feel like you’ve dealt with these anxious thoughts. Your mind will start to expect this ‘worry time’ if you do it regularly, making your worries less pressing when you’re trying to sleep.

Find something to distract you

Whether it’s reading by low light or some gentle stretching, do something that will get your mind off the anxious thoughts tumbling around your brain.   Keep away from anything alcoholic and stay away from your phone. The phone’s blue backlight can make it even harder to get back to sleep, and perusing social media can add to the negativity in your mind!

Don’t watch the clock

Resist the urge to watch the clock. This will make you feel more stressed out and anxious about the time that’s slipping away and the sleep you’re not getting.

We hope this helps you to banish anxiety and get a good night’s sleep.

Sources: Huffington Post, Psychologies UK