I couldn't take it anymore so I started some sleep experiments over the last few weeks. And I found something that seems to be working for now.
I've setup a wind down time now before I sleep. So I make sure I don't have any caffeine once evening hits. I've started taking a few vitamins/supplements at night. And I won't watch any TV before I go to bed. I'll just read for a little while. Then if I'm still not tired or ready to sleep, which I always am, I turn on a sleep podcast.
I actually found this podcast by accident but it's called
Sleep With Me, which I think is a hilarious title. There a quite a few of these out there, like this article
10 Podcasts to Help You Sleep. And this podcast hasn't failed to put me out for the few weeks I've tried it. I just leave it playing on my phone by my bed and the podcast guy rambles on about whatever. It's pretty funny stuff. Then before I know it, I've dropped off to sleep. It's great.
Weird thing is I've tried other podcasts before like NPR or whatever but that didn't help at all. It just kept me awake. So I guess I work better with podcasts that are dedicated to sleep. Cause I've tried using sound machines with white noise, rain sounds or ocean waves, etc. but none of that seemed to work for me.
My brain just kept running and my thoughts can be louder than the music or those sounds. But I've noticed that if someone else is talking and I'm listening then my brain quiets down. I'm more focused on listening to the other person's words than obsessing or replaying my own thoughts of whatever happened that day. This switch in focus helps my overdriving brain to relax and I can finally sleep. Thank goodness.
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