A doctor has revealed his top tip to help people stop overthinking and help them fall asleep more easily at night.
Overthinking and sleep difficulties often go hand in hand, as anxiety, stress, and racing thoughts can hinder the body from fully relaxing and entering a deep sleep state. According to the NHS, while few sleepless nights are usually nothing to worry about, but it can become an issue if a lack of sleep starts to affect your daily life. While you might not want to seek professional help, there are several methods you can try to help you fall asleep more easily.
Dr Joe Whittington has turned to TikTok to assist people in relaxing their minds to fall asleep more easily, and the best part is that you can do it while still lying in bed.
“You ever lay in bed at night, overthinking all of the embarrassing things you’ve done since childhood?” the doctor asked at the beginning of the video. “Same. So I’m gonna teach you a technique that might help you calm your overactive brain.
“It’s called the infinity tracing technique,” he explained. “What you do is you take your finger, put it in the air, and you trace the infinity symbol slowly and methodically. Not like you’re casting spells. And as you’re tracing this infinity symbol, you’re going to just follow it with your eyes. Only your eyes.”
While it may seem like a strange thing to do, especially if you’re lying in bed trying to fall asleep, Dr Joe said the technique has been proven to help calm racing thoughts.
“What this does is it activates your vestibular centre which is involved with your balance and eye movements,” he explained. “When your vestibular system gets activated, it can help calm racing thoughts. Sort of like distracting a toddler with a shiny object, except the toddler is your overactive brain.
“It’s a technique often used in therapy and neuroscience to help you stop doom scrolling your regrets.”
The NHS describes the vestibular system as part of the inner ear that responds to movement, whether up or down, backwards or forwards, or around and over. To settle an overstimulated vestibular system, the health service recommends gentle, slow, and predictable movements.
“So next time that overactive brain is keeping your up, give it a try and let me know how it worked,” Dr Joe said..
Whilst this method doesn’t replace the need for pro help when battling insomnia, viewers are loving the doctor’s savvy advice.
One inspired individual shared: “Didn’t realize why I did this.. bit makes sense I always draw a shape of like a spirograph pattern and often just do it in my head, like a 5 petal flower, all one line,” while another person chimed in saying: “I needed this!”.
A third user humorously compared their restless mind to child-care: “Ha! My overthinking brain is definitely like taking care of a toddler.”
Someone else reflected on similarities with another therapeutic approach: “That’s almost the same thing as EMDR. Science behind it is fascinating!”.
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