Thoughts Keeping You Up? 😳

Hi, girlfriend. Did we send each other DMs at 3 AM when we both couldn't sleep?? 😅

Why were we wide awake with our minds racing through thoughts, worries, and to-do lists? Why does our brain decide that the middle of the night is the perfect time to dissect every decision we've ever made and worry about the future?

Well, there are a few reasons. For starters, the silence of the night can amplify our thoughts, making them seem louder and more urgent than they do during the day. Plus, when lying in bed with nothing else to focus on, our brains are free to wander into overthinking. 🤔

But hold on! There are tools we can use to quiet the midnight mind and reclaim our precious beauty sleep! Here are a few steps for you to stop overthinking and snooze peacefully through the night:

First of all, look at your evening routine. I'll say it right here: if you're eating dinner after 7 PM, drinking wine, and going to bed after the Late Show, you're setting yourself up for a horrible night's sleep. And if you're putting all the dishes in the sink, scrolling social, and not getting ready for the morning routine, you're already ruining tomorrow. When you wake up feeling like crap, and there's crap all around you, how do you expect to feel confident? 

Stop it right now, girlfriend. 

Cut back on drinking. Don't hate me for it - you know that it's a big part of sleeping better. You don't want those nighttime sweats and waking up feeling miserable. I'm not saying stop drinking. I'm saying do it with your girlfriends once in a while. And drink white wine cut with a can of seltzer. Even better, mix it with Poppi for gut health. 

Create a bedtime routine. Establishing a consistent bedtime routine can signal your brain that it's time to wind down and prepare for sleep. Read a book, sip tea, find activities that help you relax, and stick to them each night (create the habits, girlfriend!). Just watch your tea intake before bed. If you're like me, you'll wake up to pee at night. I've been listening to subliminal hypnosis as I fall asleep that turns off automatically after 15 min. I don't know if it does anything, but it helps drown out the mental noise. 

Stop the intrusive thoughts. So, there's an actual name to those unwelcome, involuntary thoughts, images, or ideas that often pop into our minds without invitation. This is where I'm working on practicing - as soon as my thoughts go south, I'm like, NO! I've been getting these fleeting worries that cause anxiety, fear, and guilt. Intrusive thoughts are common and experienced by most people at some point in their lives. Use a mental cue or physical action (like saying "stop" aloud or snapping your fingers) to interrupt those thoughts and redirect your focus to something else. Replace them with positive affirmations and reminders of how good things are and how unlikely the bad stuff you're overthinking will ever happen. 

GO TO BED. I'm in bed by 9 PM doing my Duolingo. By the way, what time are you waking up? Are you hitting the snooze button or jumping out of bed? You need 8 hours of sleep. Do the math so you can wake up earlier to give yourself more time to do the things the woman you want to do. Like exercise. Speaking of which...

Exercise. I'm just going to say it. Taking care of your physical and mental well-being can help boost your confidence and promote better sleep. Make the time to work out. No excuses. 

BREAKING NEWS: I just got a DM from my gf, Karen: 

Moving her body helped release endorphins, our natural stress relievers. But she also mentioned something important: the need to journal more. Ah, a powerful tool for decluttering the mind! By putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), we can externalize our thoughts and worries, giving them a place to exist outside our busy brains. It's a cathartic process that can bring clarity and calmness, making it easier to drift off into dreamland.

Girlfriend, this is probably my biggest tip: wake up and be proactive about what's keeping you up at night. If something's bothering you, do something about it. If you want a restful sleep, take the steps during the day.

Taking Action for Better Sleep RECAP:

So, let's take a cue from Karen and take action to do something about it. Remember, self-care isn't just reserved for daytime hours. It's a 24/7 effort. So, embrace these midnight stress-busting techniques, and let's stop the 3 AM DMs!

1. Nix the booze.

2. Clean up your evening routine.

3. STOP your intrusive thoughts.

4. Go to bed by 9 PM.

5. Move your body.

6. Write it out of your head.

7. Take the steps during the day to be proactive.

Love you. Gotta go. Bye. And sweet dreams! 💤

P.S. Have your own tips for conquering midnight stress? Share them with me! And let me know if there's something on this list that's of help to you! The more we take the steps inside and out today, the more confident we'll be tomorrow!