A portrait of an older person, with detailed notes and thoughts visually represented as swirling or floating elements within their head.
Quick Takeaway:
- 1Pink Light Technique
- Notice you are overthinking and just observe
- Alternate nostril breathing (Nadi Shodhana)
- The Worry List
- Sing it (break the loop)
- Gratitude Diary
- Can’t decide? Pick one solution and go with it
Introduction
n this article I’ll share six simple, gentle steps you can use in the evening to calm your nervous system, quieten racing thoughts, and help your body drift into sleep naturally.
These are techniques I’ve used myself and shared with many clients who struggle with sleep and anxiety.
The good news is: your mind can learn to settle.
Overthinking
If you can’t sleep because your mind just won’t switch off, you are not alone.
Almost everyone goes through times when they cannot stop the incessant flow of thoughts streaming in.
Overthinking often shows up at bedtime — replaying conversations, worrying about the future, or going over the same thoughts again and again.
It’s usually about your what things that have gone wrong, problems, shortcomings and mistakes and the upset other people have caused.
In time events slowly into the past. But what can you if it doesn’t or to if you want to speed the healing process up?
The Journal of Abnormal Psychology reported a 2003 study that found dwelling or ruminating on these sorts of thoughts increases your risk of mental health problems and can damage your health. It is also addictive – the more you do it the harder it is to stop.
Use the steps below as a seven-day challenge to quieten your mind and improve your sleep. Remember to use The Pink Light Technique daily.
Step 1– The Pink Light Technique.
Practice this for healing meditation technique for 5-10 minutes once a day to heal the relationships at the root of your overthinking and stress. You don’t need to believe it will work. Just try it and notice the difference after a few weeks and then months. There is a free PDF download and video near the top on my blog page.
Pink Light Technique
- . Close your eyes and get yourself in a loving space. – Remember a time when you felt loved.
- 2. In your mind’s eye, picture pink loving light radiating out from your heart, spreading around your body.
- 3. Now allow it to surround you in a bubble of pink loving light
- 4. Now bring to mind a loving or neutral image of yourself. Bring that image in front of the pink light
- 5. Next, bring in a loving image of each member of your immediate family – mother, father, siblings, children, etc (even if deceased). Cover each person in a ball of pink light, for a few seconds, then let them go and move on to the next person.
- 6. Cover others in the same Pink Loving Light – just for a few seconds
- 7. Bring in an image of anyone who you have an emotional charge or discomfort with. Cover them with the same pink light and let them go.
- 8. Allow anyone else to appear, cover them with the pink light and let them go.
- 9. If no one else is showing up naturally, or you have been doing the technique for about five minutes, then just cover the image of yourself again and gently come to an end and open your ey
- es.
Sue’s tips
If you can’t visualise pink light don’t worry – just have the intention of doing so. If you find it hard to conjure a loving image of a person, just picture them in front of you. If you cannot do that, then picture them standing far away from you or facing away from you.When you’re doing this exercise, cover anyone who appears in pink light – don’t push them away. There is no need to judge if they deserve it on not. This is about healing your stress. Once they’re done, assume they’re done for the day and don’t need to be done again.
2 – Notice you are overthinking and just observe
Notice whenever you have been stuck in stressful thinking, take a moment to check in with your body – you will find that your body is similarly stressed and tense.
Take a few deep breaths.
Notice if yourl posture when you are worrying or overthinking. Many people find they have their head down and look to the side. Once you are aware of what you are doing, it you can change it. Look up, look around you, walk around and look at everything around you and smile. Recognise that you are overthinking and forgive yourself for it.
Spend a few minutes observing your thoughts, and see if you can observe them as if they were separate from you.
3 – Alternate Nostril Breathing.
Each time you notice yourself overthinking, use the Alternate Nostril Breathing Technique toreset and calm your body. It will just take a minute or two as you only do it for 15 breaths. Alternate Nostril Breathing or Nadi Shodhana is an ancient, simple, powerful technique to reset your nervous system, de-stress and relax. It’s a great way to hit the reset button and just needs a few minutes to practise to calm the mind, bring us back into balance, improve focus and de-stress. I particularly like this one by Deepak Chopra.
Here’s how to do Alternate Nasal Breathing
Use your thumb and index fingers on your right hand to gently close your nostrils – first left then right.
- 1. With your thumb close your right nostril
- 2. Breath in and out through your left nostril
- 3. Then switch
- 4. Close your left nostril with your index finger
- 5. Breathe in and out through your right nostril
When to use Alternate Nasal Breathing
Just do this breathing technique twelve or fifteen times to start. You can do this sitting or lying down. You will notice how it starts to calm your nervous system.
4. The Worry Diary
If your mind keeps replaying the same thoughts, get them out onto paper. This is a quick way to clear mental clutter. Find a notebook you can just use as a Worry Diary. This way, you’ll notice how repetitive thoughts are.
- Keep your worry notebook by your bed.
- Write: “What’s on my mind tonight?”
- List everything — even if it feels messy or repetitive.
- Then write one sentence:
“The next helpful step I can take tomorrow is…” - Close the notebook and tell yourself:
“I don’t have to solve this now. Night-time is for resting.”
5 – Sing
Sing or Hum Gently
This might sound unusual, but humming or gently singing can be surprisingly calming.
It changes your breathing, shifts your focus, and breaks the “thought loop.”
Keep it soft and simple — even a quiet hum for 30 seconds can help your body settle.
Sing Loudly
Sometimes you might want to move some energy to vent your frustration. Try singing your complaint out loud. Pick powerful tune. It could be a pop tune or the Halleluiah Chorus – it does not matter. Imagine you are standing at a window bellowing it out of your life! Do this at twice every day – you can do it silently if necessary – but move your mouth and breathe as though you are singing at the top of your voice. Singing helps switch on your sympathetic nervous system.
6 – Start a Gratitude Diary
Make a conscious decision to stop talking about your sleep and other problems. . Focus on this moment. Find a notebook and start writing down things in your life you can be grateful for.
From a daffodil poking its first green shoots through the winter soil, to watching the leaves falling from the trees in autumn. Just notice the beauty and good things around you.
7 – Pick any solution and go with it
If you do not know which to pick or nothing resonates ,then it’s helpful to accept that perfect solutions do not exist. If you have options, then today pick one and go with it. Toss a coin. See what happens in a week or a month.
FAQs about overthinking and sleep
Why do I overthink more at night?
Because the day goes quiet and the brain finally has space to process. If you’ve been “coping” all day, the mind often releases it all at bedtime.
What if I wake up at 3am and can’t switch off?
Treat it gently. Don’t stare at the clock. Do one calming step — pink light, slow breathing, or a body scan — and let your body drift back down naturally.
What if my thoughts are about something real?
Then your mind is trying to protect you. Write it down, choose one small next step for tomorrow, and remind yourself: “Rest helps me cope better.”
How long does it take to stop overthinking at night?
Some people feel relief immediately, and for others it builds over a couple of weeks. The key is repetition — calming the body teaches the brain a new bedtime pattern.
If overthinking is stealing your sleep, please know you don’t have to figure it out on your own.
I help people calm a busy mind, release worry from the body, and return to natural, refreshing sleep using gentle hypnotherapy, NLP and relaxation techniques.
If you’d like support, you’re very welcome to call me on 07792 447331 to book a free initial telephone consultation. There’s no pressure — just a conversation to see what would help you most.
