Calm · 4 min read
How to stop racing thoughts at night: 5 steps for the evening and for the bed
TL;DR. At night there is less to do and less to distract you, so thoughts get louder. Trying hard to switch them off usually adds effort and keeps you awake. A better plan starts earlier in the evening: put the open loops on paper, give worry a time slot, and keep the bed for sleep. Below are five steps to try.
Why thoughts speed up at night
During the day your attention is busy. In bed it is free, and unfinished matters come up. The body is tired but the mind is on guard. A model of insomnia describes this loop: worry raises arousal, arousal keeps you awake, and then you worry about not sleeping (Harvey 2002).
The good news is that this loop is made of habits. Habits can be changed.
Five steps
1. Write down tomorrow's list before bed
In one study, young adults who spent five minutes writing a to-do list fell asleep faster than those who wrote about what they had already done. The more specific the list, the quicker they fell asleep (Scullin 2018). It was a small study, so take it as a promising idea.
2. Give worry its own time earlier
Choose fifteen minutes in the early evening. Write each worry in one line. Next to it write one small step, or "not mine". An old idea in worry research is to move worry to a set time and place (Borkovec et al. 1983). Our worry-time planner follows this idea.
3. Label the thought, do not argue
When a thought arrives in bed, say: "That's a night thought." Do not try to solve it. It will still be there at the planned time. For more ways out of circling thoughts, see How to stop overthinking.
4. Give the body something to do
Slow your out-breath for two minutes (the breathing timer can pace it). Or feel the weight of your body on the mattress. This gives attention a simple, boring job.
5. If you are still awake after about 20 minutes, get up
Go to another room. Do something quiet in dim light. Return when you feel sleepy. This keeps the bed linked with sleep, not with thinking. Use your clock as little as possible. If the fear of not sleeping is the bigger problem, read Sleep anxiety.
What to avoid
- Fighting the thoughts. Pushing a thought away often makes it return.
- Solving big problems in bed. The night is a poor time for it.
- Scrolling. Light and news wake the mind.
- Reading the clock again and again. It adds pressure.
For more on nights that fall apart, see Can't sleep? What to do.
Free tool
To keep this habit, try the free worry-time planner. It helps you sort what you can act on from what you cannot.
When to seek help
Please talk to a doctor or psychologist if:
- racing thoughts or poor sleep last most nights for weeks and affect your days;
- you cannot slow down for days, you need very little sleep and feel unusually energetic or irritable;
- fear keeps coming back, or you have surges of panic;
- you feel low for weeks, or thoughts of harming yourself appear.
If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, contact emergency services or a crisis line now. These lines are free and confidential:
Free, confidential crisis lines by country are listed in the box below. See the crisis lines ↓
More options are on our Get help page.
FAQ
Is it normal to overthink more at night?
Yes, it is very common. The quiet and lack of tasks give unfinished thoughts more room.
Should I stay in bed and wait?
Resting is fine. If you are wide awake and frustrated after about 20 minutes, getting up for a while often helps.
Does writing really help?
For some people it does. A small study found a short to-do list helped young adults fall asleep faster. Individual results differ.
Can I do this every night?
Yes. A short routine at the same time each evening usually works better than a rescue attempt in bed.
Sources
- Scullin MK et al. The effects of bedtime writing on difficulty falling asleep: a polysomnographic study comparing to-do lists and completed activity lists. J Exp Psychol Gen 2018
- Harvey AG. A cognitive model of insomnia. Behav Res Ther 2002
- Borkovec TD, Wilkinson L, Folensbee R, Lerman C. Stimulus control applications to the treatment of worry. Behav Res Ther 1983
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