I was once afflicted with insomnia. On and off for about four years I would go days without getting a wink of sleep. I’d lay in bed for eight odd hours, staring at the ceiling, trying to fall asleep, getting angry that I wasn’t falling asleep, and throwing something at the ceiling. I’m not a doctor, so I don’t know of all the medical causes of insomnia, but I do know one huge reason many people can’t fall asleep, the same one I had…Too much thinking!

Every sleepless night started with my having an internal dialogue. That dialogue would lead me to getting some sort of emotional charge. The charge would lead me on a thought train about people, things I did, life, and all the things I want to do tomorrow. If I could only stop thinking, I could fall asleep. I eventually did learn to stop thinking, which healed my insomnia. Here’s how I did it.

1. Do everything you want to do in a day. One cause of thinking is regret. It could be as simple as something you wanted to do at work, or an event that you wanted to go to, but got lazy at the last minute. Or it could be more meaningful, like asking out the attractive stranger in the coffee shop. Anything uncompleted action that will make you feel regretful, will keep you thinking, and awake.
2. Make sure to have fun every day. In college I had to read Friedrich Nietzche for a class. Quite boring, yet I did gain one nugget that made all the readings worth it. In Thus Spake Zarathustra, Nietzche says that the way to fall asleep is to think forty thoughts: 10 challenges to overcome, 10 compliments for yourself, 10 facts or “truths,” and 10 things that are amusing. The last set of thoughts made the whole thing worth it. Often we start thinking too much when we’re bored. I started making sure I had a few laugh-worthy moments each day, and found it easier to fall asleep because I wasn’t “searching entertainment.”
3. Feel your body. Thinking takes our attention away from the sensations we feel. Conversely, if we put full attention on what we feel, our minds stop chattering. When you’re getting in bed, pay attention to the sheets on your skin, your weight on the bed. Sensations are neither interesting nor boring. Sensations are just sensations. As long as your attention is on sensation, you can’t get lost on a thought train.
4. Nip it in the bud. Thinking can be like a drug. You start thinking and say “oh, I’m just going to analyze this one thing, it’s no big deal. I can stop whenever I want” But then that thought leads to another thought leading to another. Before you know it, you’re so deep in thought that you can’t get out. Once you notice yourself thinking, stop! No excuses.