Summary

The context suggests a genius hack for a restful night's sleep - journaling before bed to help manage stress and induce a solid night's rest.

Abstract

The author emphasizes the importance of sleep and shares their experience of struggling with sleep due to an overactive mind filled with worries and random thoughts. They tried various tricks like breathing exercises, a cup of chamomile tea before bed, and lying still but nothing worked. The author then resorted to their old habit of journaling and found that writing for 15 minutes every night helped them sleep peacefully. They recommend a 5-15 minute brain dump journaling session to get every thought out of the head onto the paper, which makes them feel lighter and helps them fall asleep. They assure that even if someone thinks they won't have anything to write about, they will be surprised by how many thoughts float into their mind. They also suggest checking out a Psychology Today article for more information on why journaling helps manage stress. The author concludes by suggesting that readers try journaling before bed and see the results for themselves.

Bullet points

The author struggled with sleep due to an overactive mind
They tried various tricks to fall asleep, but nothing worked
They resorted to their old habit of journaling before bed
The author recommends a 5-15 minute brain dump journaling session before bed
This helps get every thought out of the head onto the paper, making one feel lighter and helping them fall asleep
Even if someone thinks they won't have anything to write about, they will be surprised by how many thoughts float into their mind
Check out a Psychology Today article for more information on why journaling helps manage stress
Try journaling before bed and see the results for yourself.

Unlock the Secret to a Restful Night’s Sleep with This Genius Hack

Reclaim your nights

Did you know the longest someone has gone without sleep is 11 days, 25 minutes?

I’d wager most of us aren’t looking to break the no-sleep Guinness World Record.

In fact, few things put me in a worse mood than a terrible night’s sleep. Some time ago, I wrote about a detox bath that knocked me out like a mid-level contender in a Terrence Crawford fight.

Given the high temperatures of the recent summer, I was less inclined to hop into a hot bath every day.

Still, after tossing and turning throughout the night, I started thinking about other things I’d done in the past to help induce a solid night’s rest.

The answer wasn’t hard to find as these items were scattered around my apartment.

Pen and paper.

Anticlimactic?

Yeah, I know. The best hacks tend to be obvious.

Doesn’t change the results, though.

Before the summer, I’d stopped journaling in the evenings. And my sleep quality decreased because of my lack of effort.

My problem was I couldn’t stop thinking. All kinds of worries flooded me. Random thoughts about future plans and the occasional trip down memory lane kept me awake.

I’d tried breathing exercises, a cup of chamomile tea before bed, and lying still, hoping to knock out at some point, but these tricks weren’t working.

The first night, I picked up my journal and wrote for fifteen minutes, which produced a whole night’s sleep. My mind wasn’t racing with random thoughts as I rested my head against my pillow. I was at peace.

Journaling hack

There are many ways to journal. But, if you suffer from an overactive mind, brain dumping on the page might be your salvation.

Any and everything that enters your mind during a 5–15 minute journaling session write it down. It doesn’t matter how obscure or random the thought is; get it out of your head.

I like to bullet point my brain dumps for organizational purposes but don’t feel like you have to have order when purging at the end of the day.

Write in your sloppiest handwriting, use sentence fragments; hell, write outside the lines. Go crazy with it. Be honest and unfiltered with your words.

Once I get every thought out of my head on paper, I feel much lighter. More importantly, I can get into bed and go to sleep.

You might be thinking, I won’t have anything to write about.

You’re wrong.

If you have any daily stress or unresolved issues, they’ll float into your mind, and soon, you’ll have a page full of words staring back at you.

If you want to learn more about why journaling helps manage stress, check out this article on Psychology Today.

What if it’s a fluke?

For weeks, I’ve made a concerted effort to journal before bed. Every time I have, I’ve slept well.

The other night, I forgot. And I paid the price. I tossed and turned for over an hour and then got up to write down every thought on the page. This activity lasted for five minutes at most.

Once I finished, I got into bed and tried again to fall asleep. I was knocked out within half an hour.

“Sleep is that golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.” — Thomas Dekker.

But hey, I’m just some random gal on the internet talking about all this good sleep I’ve been getting.

Why should you take my word?

So, don’t.

Instead, try journaling before bed and see what results you get. What’s the worst that could happen?

Night, night.