Dear Human 💕,

You’re tossing and turning and you can’t fall asleep.

I’m not surprised.

Just before heading to bed, I heard you talk about all the things that went wrong today, everything you’re dreading tomorrow, that thing the other human said that upset you, and world politics. Meow!

Right before bed is not the time for upsetting topics. A racing heart and racing thoughts will keep you up.

Your sleep deserves to be protected. Create yourself a sleep sanctuary.

Agree with the other human that certain topics stay out of the late evening and out of the bedroom. Agree with yourself too.

Make room for the difficult topics in the early evening. Reflect on your day. What do you want to deal with? What do you want to talk about with the other human? Then talk to the other human, if it’s a good time for both of you. Aim to wrap up all the hard stuff by 9 pm.

Anything you can’t finish, write it down. Get it out of your head for tonight. Tomorrow-you can deal with it tomorrow. And today-you can sleep well.

Even with this plan, thoughts that scratch or hiss at you might still pop up at any time. You can’t control that. But you don’t have to chase them.

Keep a notebook (or your phone) next to your bed. When something pops up that’s not for tonight, you can quickly write it down even in the middle of the night. One line is enough to remind you later. Now your brain can let it go for now, and you can go back to sleep.

Tomorrow-you will handle the tomorrow-things.

Curl up in your sanctuary.

Sweet dreams.

Yours,
Cat 🐾

P.S. When humans agree to keep certain topics out of the late evening and the bedroom, it’s sometimes called a “Worry-Free Zone” or a “No-Fly Zone.” The time earlier in the evening for the hard stuff has names too: a “Worry Window” or a “Daily Debrief.” Therapists have less catchy names for these: “Stimulus Control” and “Scheduled Worry”. Both are used in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

P.P.S. You worry a lot. Does it help to worry that much?