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I Can't Stop Worrying Before Bed!

by Vivienne
(Southbank, British Columbia, Canada)

I have a very active mind at night and no matter how hard I try, I can't sleep. The reason? All I hear about is "the world ending" and it worries me to the point where I can't get a wink of sleep all night!


I also am afraid of waking people up at night so I can't wake up my parents to talk to them. (Not to mention the fact that they never really "wake up" when I wake them up!) I'm twelve years old and I need to sleep more than anything right now! What can I do?

Kevin: Hi Vivienne, Thanks for sharing your story. I have an active mind often at night too. What I like to do to soothe it is to focus my active mind on a peaceful book. A lot of times reading the words will tire out my eyes, and when they're heavy enough I fall asleep pretty quickly. The trick is using the story of the book to keep you from thinking about all your other worries.

Making sure you get a lot of exercise during the day, and not drinking things like soda or eating sugary candy after dinner can also help you get to sleep at night.

What's not a good idea is to do anything involving looking at a bright light when it is late, such as being on the computer or watching television. The lights from these screens can shift your biological clock (a "clock" of sorts in your brain that tells your body when it should be tired) and essentially trick you into thinking you should be awake when it is actually night and time to sleep. Good luck Vivienne, and if you have any more questions feel free to post them in the comments below!

Warmly,
Kevin


(Please keep in mind that I am a student of sleep science and not a medical doctor. Please take any thoughts I give with my background in mind.)

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