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Lying in bed at night, unable to shut off your thoughts, is a struggle most people know too well. When the mind races with worries about tomorrow, unresolved issues from past events, or intrusive thoughts that won’t let go, it becomes almost impossible to fall asleep. This kind of mental spiral may contribute to elevated stress levels, which are often linked with increased cortisol, pushing the body further into a state of tension when all it needs is calm.
Overthinking at night doesn’t just affect sleep—it also impacts mental health, emotional regulation, and physical well-being. The good news is that simple strategies grounded in sleep medicine and psychology may help ease overthinking, calm racing thoughts, and support better sleep habits. From deep breathing and meditation to managing blue light exposure and creating a personalized bedtime routine, learning to stop overthinking at night can help you reclaim the peaceful rest your brain and body need.4
When the world gets quiet, the brain often gets louder. During the day, there are distractions—conversations, work, screens—but at night, the silence leaves room for thoughts to surface. This is when the mind races, replaying past events or imagining everything that could go wrong tomorrow. For people with anxiety or a mental health condition like obsessive-compulsive disorder, the quiet hours can feel overwhelming.
Activity inside the brain doesn't stop just because the body is lying down. The parts responsible for focus and decision-making stay active, especially when stress hormones are elevated. Without fewer distractions, the brain turns inward, focusing on unwanted thoughts, worries, or problems we haven’t solved. This mental overload can make it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep, pulling you into a vicious cycle of insomnia and overthinking.1
There isn’t one single solution for a racing mind. But with the right tools and habits, it’s possible to calm your thoughts and get a good night’s sleep. These ten simple, science-backed strategies can help you stop overthinking at night and allow your brain to settle down for peaceful rest.
Set aside 15 to 20 minutes in the late afternoon to write down your worries or other unfinished thoughts. Doing this helps train your brain to stop carrying those concerns into bedtime. It gives your mind permission to let go at night because the issues already had space earlier. This strategy can be helpful for people who feel overwhelmed by unresolved issues when they try to fall asleep.
Simple mental tasks like silently repeating a word, naming animals alphabetically, or doing a quiet puzzle can give your brain something neutral to focus on. These tools help shift your attention away from negative thoughts and racing thoughts. Distraction gives your mind a break and can make it easier to shut down looping worries and intrusive thoughts.
A consistent routine before bed—such as taking a warm shower, dimming lights, or listening to soft music—tells your brain it’s time to slow down. Studies show that even in children, bedtime routines lead to faster sleep and fewer awakenings during the night. These calming habits support better sleep and reduce the sense of mental chaos often triggered at bedtime.5
Writing down what’s on your mind, especially if your head feels full, helps organize your own thoughts. It can be as simple as listing five things you’re grateful for or jotting down what happened today. Journaling can help organize thoughts and may ease mental tension before bed.
Practicing deep breathing may help your body relax and shift into a calmer state. A few minutes of deep breathing or using a short meditation practice lowers your heart rate and reduces the stress hormone levels in your system. When practiced consistently, these techniques help quiet a racing mind and make it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.
Choosing a short, peaceful phrase like “I am safe” or “Let go” and repeating it slowly can shift your focus away from the noise of other thoughts. This creates a rhythm in the brain that replaces overthinking with calm. It also brings you back to the present moment, helping you feel more in control during bedtime.
Blue light from phones, tablets, or TVs delays melatonin production, affecting the brain’s sleep cycle. Interactive content—like scrolling or gaming—can also increase mental stimulation right when the brain needs to slow down. Reducing screen time before bed may help signal your body to wind down and limit mental stimulation.2
This technique involves gently tensing and relaxing different muscle groups one at a time. It helps shift attention away from the brain and into the body. As you move through each part—from head to toe—you'll notice where you’re holding tension and help your body physically relax. This may help promote relaxation by shifting attention from thoughts to physical sensations.
If you’ve been awake for more than 20 minutes and can’t relax, it helps to get up and do something quiet in low light—like reading or stretching—until you feel sleepy again. Staying in bed while frustrated trains the brain to connect the bed with stress instead of sleep. Breaking this pattern helps support a healthier relationship with bedtime.
A warm, non-caffeinated drink like chamomile or valerian root tea can signal to the brain that it's time to relax. Pairing this with white noise—like a fan or gentle rainfall—can also block out background noise and provide a soothing audio focus. Some research suggests these sensory cues may support relaxation and improve sleep comfort, especially when falling asleep is difficult.3
Sometimes, standard advice isn’t enough to stop overthinking at night. These lesser-known strategies can help calm a racing mind when your thoughts just won’t slow down.
Instead of forcing yourself to fall asleep, try doing the opposite. Paradoxical intention is a technique where you gently try to stay awake on purpose, without distractions, while lying in bed with the lights off. This approach removes pressure and stops the stress response triggered by trying too hard. For people stuck in a vicious cycle of insomnia and overthinking, this shift in mindset may help ease performance pressure and allow the brain to settle more naturally.6
Imagining a calming place—like a quiet beach or a cozy cabin—can help your brain move away from stress and into a sense of safety. Visualization helps bring your focus to the present moment instead of future worries or past events. When the mind races with negative thoughts, building a peaceful mental scene creates fewer distractions and supports a smoother transition to sleep.
Thinking of five things you’re grateful for helps steer your thoughts away from fear and tension. Gratitude can interrupt overthinking by shifting your focus from what’s going wrong to what feels good or meaningful. This practice may help shift your mindset and support a more relaxed state before bed, easing your body and brain into calm.
Writing down everything that’s on your mind—even random thoughts, tasks, or worries—helps free your brain from carrying it all into the night. A brain dump turns mental noise into written words, which gives your thoughts a place to go. Creating a short checklist like “things I need to do,” “things I can’t control,” and “what I’ll handle tomorrow” can help shut down the mental to-do list that often keeps people awake.
Certain habits can make overthinking worse without you realizing it. When you're trying to fall asleep, these behaviors often feed anxiety and make your mind feel even more overwhelmed.
Doomscrolling or using your phone in bed: Blue light delays melatonin, and scrolling through news or social media keeps the brain alert. This habit increases stimulation and stress, especially before bedtime.
Watching the clock constantly: Checking the time over and over creates pressure and makes sleep feel like a race against the clock. This raises anxiety and worsens insomnia.
Forcing yourself to sleep: Trying too hard to fall asleep activates the stress hormone system and makes it harder for your body to relax. This can lead to more racing thoughts and restlessness.
Replaying conversations or stressful scenarios: Going over what was said or what could’ve happened keeps the brain stuck in the past. It blocks relaxation and often leads to intrusive thoughts.
Overthinking doesn’t just keep you awake—it can also impact long-term health. When the brain is stuck in a cycle of worry, it keeps the body in a state of alertness. This makes it harder to stay asleep, process emotions, and recover during the night.
The link between poor sleep and mental health:Research shows that lack of sleep can worsen symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. Poor sleep and mental health challenges are often linked and can influence each other.
Cortisol spikes and their effect on rest:When overthinking triggers the release of the stress hormone cortisol, it raises heart rate and alertness. This keeps your body from shifting into deep, restful sleep.
Long-term impact of sleepless nights:Ongoing sleep loss affects memory, focus, mood, and immune function. Over time, it increases the risk for chronic stress, burnout, and health issues like high blood pressure.
If overthinking at night happens often and affects your ability to function during the day, it may be time to talk with a professional. Chronic insomnia and nighttime anxiety don’t always go away on their own, and you don’t have to handle them alone.
Signs your overthinking may be tied to anxiety or insomnia:You dread going to bed, feel anxious when lying down, wake up exhausted, or spend more than a few hours awake at night with a racing mind.
How Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBTi) can help:CBTi teaches practical ways to change sleep-related thoughts and habits. It’s a widely used and research-supported approach for addressing insomnia and related thought patterns.
Where to start if you need support:Talk to your doctor or a licensed mental health provider. You can also search for online CBTi programs or therapists who specialize in sleep and anxiety.
Learning how to stop overthinking at night takes patience, but it’s possible to guide your brain into a more peaceful rhythm. The key is finding what helps your mind shift from alert to relaxed—whether it’s deep breathing, a bedtime routine, or simply limiting blue light exposure.
When the mind races, small, steady changes to your evening habits can make a big difference in how you feel at night and the next day. Instead of trying to control every thought, focus on creating space for calm so your body and brain can settle into a good night’s sleep.
Why does my brain race when I try to sleep?
Your brain has fewer distractions at night, making it easier for thoughts, worries, and emotions to bubble up.
Is overthinking at night a sign of anxiety?
Often, yes. Nighttime overthinking can be tied to anxiety or high-stress levels.
What is a grounding technique I can try right now?
Try the 5-4-3-2-1 method: focus on 5 things you see, 4 you can touch, 3 you hear, 2 you smell, 1 you taste.
Can meditation help stop overthinking?
Yes—guided meditations and breathwork can calm your nervous system and quiet your mind.
Should I get out of bed if I can't sleep?
If you’re awake for more than 20 minutes, it's best to leave the bed and do a calming activity in low light.
Benham G. (2021). Bedtime repetitive negative thinking moderates the relationship between psychological stress and insomnia. Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress, 37(5), 949–961. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.3055
Brosnan, B., Haszard, J. J., Meredith-Jones, K. A., Wickham, S. R., Galland, B. C., & Taylor, R. W. (2024). Screen Use at Bedtime and Sleep Duration and Quality Among Youths. JAMA pediatrics, 178(11), 1147–1154. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.2914
Ebben, M. R., Yan, P., & Krieger, A. C. (2021). The effects of white noise on sleep and duration in individuals living in a high noise environment in New York City. Sleep medicine, 83, 256–259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2021.03.031
Fernandez, D. R., Lee, R., Tran, N., Jabran, D. S., King, S., & McDaid, L. (2024). Association between poor sleep and mental health issues in Indigenous communities across the globe: a systematic review. Sleep advances : a journal of the Sleep Research Society, 5(1), zpae028. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleepadvances/zpae028
Mindell, J. A., Leichman, E. S., Lee, C., Williamson, A. A., & Walters, R. M. (2017). Implementation of a nightly bedtime routine: How quickly do things improve?. Infant behavior & development, 49, 220–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2017.09.013
Salim, O., Jansson-Fröjmark, M., Sandlund, C., & Norell, A. (2024). Paradoxical intention as a treatment for insomnia disorder: study protocol for a mixed-methods pilot trial. BMJ open, 14(10), e086676. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-086676