TIPS YOU CAN TRY

WITHOUT GETTING OUT OF BED

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Breathing Exercises

Your body instinctively knows that if your breathing is calm and steady, then you are not in danger so it will then send calming signals to your brain.  Try a technique below to help calm your breathing now.  As you do, remember to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.   

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• Belly Breathing   - Hold your hand on your belly and try to expand it as you breathe in through your nose for 3-5 counts and then expel it as you breathe out through tight lips for 3 -5 counts . This helps you to breathe deeply from your diaphragm instead of the more shallow breaths from higher in your chest.

 

• Counted Breaths (4-7-8 Breathing) - Close your mouth and hold your tongue against the ridge behind your upper front teeth.
  Inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four (4).
  Hold your breath for a count of seven (7).
  Exhale completely through your mouth to a count of eight (8).  Exhale strongly to get all the air out of your lungs.  You can even make a low sound as you exhale if that helps,

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• Alternate Nostril Breathing - As you inhale, place your finger over your right nostril and only breathe through your left. As you exhale through you mouth, switch nostrils and  then only breathe in through your right. You can pair this with counted breathing.

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Progressive Relaxation

Not only does this technique physically relax your body, it can also calm a racing mind.  Your mind may be stuck in a loop causing you to feel out of control,  but this bodily exercise can override that by the act of controlling specific muscle groups one by one.

 

You may prefer starting with your toes and working up to your head or vice versa.  Here are some muscle groups to try.  Tense and then slowly relax them separately or in groups as you find helpful:

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•  Toes 

• Lower legs , thighs and buttocks 

• Hands, wrists and forearms

• Biceps and shoulders

• Back

• Stomach and chest

• Neck

• Cheeks and jaw

• Around the mouth

• Around the eyes and forehead 

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Thought Blocking

Sometimes you need a relaxing distraction for your mind to allow it to calm down and drift off to sleep. Here are some methods to try:

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• "THE"   -  Pick a simple non-emotional word like "the' and just repeat  it quietly and steadily over and over. You may want to pair it with a simple image like seeing the word appearing inside a circle or square each time you say it.  Slowly breathe in through your nose and then repeat the word as you slowly breathe out through your mouth.

 

• Mental Puzzle  -  Try doing a mental puzzle out loud, like counting by twos up to one  hundred, or counting backwards by tens from 1000, or whatever you find keeps your mind engaged without being overtaxed 

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• Calming Audio - Although there are scientific reasons to avoid screens at night due to the blue light* they emit (it interferes with your melatonin production), many people find that using their phone to listen to the SOUND ONLY of old tv episodes can ease them into sleep.  Choose old episodes from a show you find calming and comforting to provide the right balance of distraction without stimulation.  Books on tape or a favorite old movie could serve the same purpose. 

​                    *Use 'night mode' on your devices to block out  blue light 

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Grounding

If your mind is racing you can put the brakes on it by grounding yourself in your bodily senses.  Here are a few variations to try:

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• 3-3-3 Technique  - Name 3 things you can see. Then 3 things you can touch.  Then move 3 parts of your body.  Follow up with some deep breathing.  

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• 5-4-3-2-1 Technique  - Name 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, 1 thing you can taste (this one may not apply if you are in bed).   Once you feel more grounded, you may want to move on to another calming technique like deep breathing or muscle relaxation.