A psychologist’s advice to stop the flow of thoughts while sleeping

You’re exhausted, your eyelids are droopy, your whole body is crying out for its quota of sleep. However, when your head hits the pillow, your mind is flooded with parasitic thoughts and reflections. Do you remember this file to be completed urgently, this disagreement with a friend a few days early, the summer vacation schedule to be revised… And by the way, did you turn off the oven? The brain is about to boil. However, if you don’t stop it quickly, you risk perpetuating a vicious cycle that leads to difficulty sleeping and sleep and mood disturbances that can lead to depression, recalls Linda Amin, clinical psychologist and member. European Sleep Research Society (ESRS). Here’s his action plan to fix it.

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Count the clouds

When one becomes aware of this state of immersion, the first reflex is to want to find maximum mental silence and banish the slightest thought. However, this attitude consumes a lot of energy for little impact on arrival, Linda Amin points out. In July 2020, a Canadian scientific study conducted by psychology researchers was able to estimate that a person has an average of 6,200 thoughts per day. It is impossible to block all of them, even more so, to reduce them to nothing.

Instead, the specialist suggests getting inspiration from meditative practice. “Thinking of these thoughts as clouds that pass over us and that we don’t fight against, this posture changes the way we experience those thoughts and helps us tend to let go necessary for sleep,” she notes.

Work on imagination

Distraction is usually recommended to ease a child’s crisis. This advice also applies to people who want to switch off their minds. In principle, it is based on visualization work, which is very easy to put under the blanket; we replace the thought that annoys us with another that is kinder to the mind. “Imagine a peaceful place and fill it with objects, colors, sounds and smells that you like very much,” describes the clinical psychologist. This scenario can be pre-conceived, formulated mentally or in writing, and will seek to answer the following question: what is my dream life

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Breathe from head to toe

Changing the rhythm of breathing slows the heart rate and activates the body’s parasympathetic system, which helps us reduce stress and thus disconnect. To stimulate this mechanism, lie down and breathe deeply. “Visualize each limb of your body, from head to toe, in turn, imagining that they are breathing in turn. You can also differentiate the exercise by assigning them a color,” suggests the psychologist.

Take a ritual

In order to ruminate less in the evening, you also need to be active by establishing a good bedtime routine that promotes relaxation and sleep. This ritual will vary according to everyone’s taste and desires. This could be, for example, a written assignment. “At the end of the day, we can unload our negative thoughts on a piece of paper that we fold up and throw away,” says Linda Amine. On the other hand, the closer we get to bedtime, the more we’ll focus on the positive, listing five things we’re thankful for: a specific event or a smile offered by a stranger, for example.”

Sweating at the end of the day also helps improve mental balance. “Physical activity, even the gentlest such as yoga, stimulates the production of serotonin, which contributes to better sleep and stress management,” says the clinical psychologist.

To complete this routine, Linda Amin prefers to self-massage a body part of her choice using a cream or oil. “We focus on touch and the sensations it provides. If the mind wanders, bring it back to the manipulations that are happening here and now,” concludes the psychologist. And in order for the benefits of this massage to continue until you fall asleep, the expert recommends avoiding any external stimulation before going to bed; excessive brightness or use of screens.