You've been waking up in the middle of the night again, staring at the ceiling while your mind spins through everything that happened yesterday and everything that needs to happen tomorrow. You're exhausted but somehow still wired. Sound familiar?

That 3 AM wake-up isn't just about sleep hygiene—it's often your body's response to unprocessed stress from the day. Your brain is literally trying to solve problems while you should be resting. And no, you don't need a complicated evening routine or expensive supplements to address it.

What actually helps: Before bed, spend five minutes doing a "brain dump." Not journaling with perfect sentences—just scribbling down whatever's taking up mental space. Tasks you're worried about forgetting. Conversations that felt off. Things you wish you'd said differently. Get it all out of your head and onto paper.

The magic isn't in organizing these thoughts or solving them right then. It's in giving your brain permission to stop holding onto them. You're essentially telling your nervous system, "I've got this written down, you can let it go now."

Keep a notebook by your bed. When you wake up at night and thoughts start spiraling, write those down too. Don't try to problem-solve in the dark—just capture the thought and promise yourself you'll deal with it in daylight. Then put the notebook down and focus on your breathing.

This isn't about achieving perfect sleep every night. Some nights you'll still wake up, and that's okay. But you're giving yourself a tool that acknowledges how your mind actually works instead of fighting against it.

Progress looks like waking up less often, or falling back asleep faster when you do. It looks like not carrying yesterday's stress into today quite as heavily. That's enough.

#wellness #sleep #mentalhealth #selfcare