mind & body never in-sync

[itsjustme]

Seems like, at night, when my body is getting tired, my mind is still wide awake. I think this is part of what makes me get that out of reality feeling at night. It's like I feel like my body is winding down, my eyes start getting heavy, but then my mind kicks into overdrive. So I feel hyper-alert in one way, but very lethargic in another. So it kind of gives everything a surreal look/feel.

I have no question or anything. Just an observation I wanted to share. Maybe someone else feels the same.

[itsjustme]

Actually, right after I posted, I thought about how this sometimes happens in my late classes. I'll start getting very tired. Now, used to, I'd just be sleepy in class and that'd be it. But now getting sleepy in class makes me become very anxious all of a sudden. So I get the surreal feeling, plus a very fidgety feeling (whereas, at home, I don't get anxious about the sleepy feeling...just feel weird).

[crowzzr]

I feel the same way sometimes. Most nights my mind runs non-stop and then I drag my way through classes. I wonder why that is.

[San Andreas]

Happens to me all the time.  My body is ready for sleep yet my mind is going 100MPH.  What really makes it bad is when something startles me just as I am about to nod off (like one of my cat's jumping on the bed)  Doesn't take much either.  Then I know I am doomed to being away for at least another several hourse.

Some things that help me:
I use Quiet Please ear plugs and shutting out the noise in the house really helps.  I am so touchy that even barely noticible noises will affect me right when I am trying to nod off and thus start my brain a whirring. 

When my mind is allowing worrying thoughts to take over, I have some mind games I play.  Like thinking of every famous person who's name starts with an F, or whos name sounds like an animal.  My brain gets so busy thinking of those things that it doesn't have time to let the worrying thoughs in and the next thing I know it's morning (or the middle of the night and time to go to the bathroom and then start the whole falling asleep process over again)

[Arya Stark]

Okay, I can give you advice based on experience. I've had anxiety since I was little and have much experience with the racing mind at bedtime. I hope it can be useful to someone.

My mind wants to go over anything and everything, and that is the problem. I am not a Buddhist guru and cannot stop my thoughts, However, I can direct them. I noticed when I am about to sleep, my thoughts get random and nonsensical. So, using this, I think of a pattern, or random scenery and let my thoughts get as weird as they want to. This takes a little practice. The point is to not have coherent thoughts, you know, the type that lead to more racing thoughts that lead to a wide awake brain. I have gotten quite good at this. It is always a different pattern or picture in my head. As soon as my brain  goes on this path, it starts to unwind. The best part is you don't even notice that you are unwinding or falling asleep.

I am fairly patient and let it take however long it needs to. Don't worry about the time it will take because a healthy falling asleep rate is 15 minutes. For people with sleeping probs, it could take longer. Knowing it takes some time may relieve the stress of being anxious to fall asleep. I hope this may help someone.