4 Ways To Clear Your Mind and Fall Asleep

by Julie Morgenstern

Ah, to sleep, perchance to dream. If you have trouble settling down at night because your mind is racing, you need to first determine what is keeping you up at night. Are you trying to remember your to-do list for the next day? Is your mind brimming with ideas for a big project you are in the midst of? Sleep deprivation is serious - it can lead to weight gain, memory loss, mood swings and chronic disease. Worst, it steals energy and productivity from the next day - so you don't enjoy your waking hours either, and the cycle starts all over again.

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Here are six ways to clear your mind and reclaim the pleasure of sleep back into your life:

1. Unburden your memory. Eradicate the need to worry about what you might be forgetting by having a reliable system for capturing to-do's and ideas all day long. Get yourself a single, consistent planner and commit completely to it, recording every to-do, call, task, project and meeting as it occurs to you throughout the day. Get an individual notebook for ideas - just one notebook, so that once a genius idea is written you know exactly where to look to find it again. When you trust your recording system, you only have to think of it once.

2. Do NOT keep a notebook on your bedside table. Granted, this is the exact opposite of what many recommend, but I discovered this technique in my early years as an entrepreneur, when my mind would be brimming with ideas almost 24-7 on how to grow the business. The "bedside notebook" is an enabler - a bad influence - it sends your mind a message that it's OK to never shutdown. If an idea is really worth recording, get out of bed, pad down the hall to your office or kitchen or living room and write it down. This sets a boundary between work and relaxation, so you can let go and get some rest.

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3. Create a bedtime ritual. Establish a soothing routine with sensory indicators that tell your body it's time to sleep (even if your brain refuses to listen). Begin the ritual at the same time very night, an hour or more before bed. Try deep stretches, soft music, candles, a cup of tea. Lay out your clothes for the next day, walk around the house locking the doors, straighten the sofa pillows and bookshelves. Train your mind to make a habit of rest.

4. Black out. At least one hour before bed, avoid turning on anything with a screen - TV, computer, e-mail, communication devices that contain messages that stir you up, rather than calm you down. Reading can be relaxing but gravitate toward novels, short stories, poetry - not the newspaper or a how-to book. And cover all electronics that emit light in your bedroom (alarm clocks, laptops, cable boxes, etc.). Those hazy green lights can be stimulating, making it hard to relax.

To see tips 5&6, click here

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