Exercising Your Mind May Help You Sleep

By Catherine S. Mitseas, CSM Writing & Editing 

Falling asleep quickly is often an elusive goal. Some of us toss and turn for hours–rehashing the day's events until we wish we could pluck our brain out of our heads and put it on the nightstand like a digital watch. Turn off, darn it! But instead, it keeps ticking until we give up on falling asleep and give in to anther bad night's sleep.

It doesn't have to be this way. Quite accidentally, I've stumbled upon a solution that has helped me immensely and I’d like to share my experience. It requires no drugs and may even teach you a thing or two.

My theory and suggestions rest upon the following assumption: We overtax specific parts of our brain each day and if we can “switch” to a different area, we can shut off our minds as if we were closing a door and opening another.

Here’s my thought process: Generally speaking, most people approach the world in terms of words, images, or numbers. This is categorized as verbal, visual, and pattern thinking.

Usually, individuals know what they are “good at” and they focus on these concepts throughout the day. For example, if you’re a CAD designer, puzzles, games, images stimulate you. Words may not.

I am a reader and a thinker; math was never a strong point for me.

My suggestion is simple.

Focus on an unfamiliar topic before attempting to sleep. Challenge your mind with an action you would not usually work on during the day.

I stumbled upon this idea of embracing the unknown when I bought “A Slice of Pi,” by Liz Strachen. Each night, in bed, I’d work through a page of math problems illustrated in the little book. After 20 minutes of fully concentrating on understanding and practicing one concept, I’d turn off the light, and quite literally, go to sleep.

It was as if a bulb had switched off in my head.

Later, after I finished “A Slice of Pi,” I took up “30-Second Physics,” by Brian Clegg, then Steven Hawkins’ “Brief Answers to Big Questions,” then the book based on the blog “What If,” …you get the idea. I challenged my mind with completely new information and like a little kid exhausted from a day of play, my brain just shut right off. Recently, I’ve gone old school and am attempting a high school math book published in the 1970s.

Beyond the obvious benefit of teaching yourself something new, attempting this method is harmless, medicine free, and simple. One caveat though, use a non-electronic device. This article in the New Yorker discusses the brain’s response to blue light emitted by most devices and it turns out, we are not very good at filtering it at night. 

I am not a doctor though, so I urge you to see a professional for significant sleep issues. However, exercising the mind did the trick for me and I hope it helps for you.

Cheers & Good Sleep!

Catherine