Cultivate indifference
If you have a hard time falling asleep, it's probably because you ask yourself too many questions that entertain an internal dialog: on your life, on your relationships, on your work and even your sleep.
It translates physiologically as the secretion of neurotransmitters that stimulate the waking center and stop you from falling asleep.
How to manage ?
The first strategy is to eliminate all exciting activities. Before going to bed, avoid thinking about problems that could annoy you: sentimental problems, money problems, etc. You don't need to not think about them, because thoughts appear on their own and you can't control them - however, you can choose to not encourage them by running them through your head over and over again. The second strategy is to do a little mental exercise that's about 10 minutes long (before going to bed while using Dodow ):
- Form the intention of being uninterested by everything: intention is very important because our brain obeys the orders we give it only if the goal is clearly stated. To reinforce this intention, don't hesitate to imagine a personification of indifference: someone in your social circle, or even someone imaginary (like The Dude from The Big Lebowski).
- Pay attention to your thoughts (generally, it's a little voice that can be heard in your mind)
- Everytime a thought pops up, stay with it for a while and observe it (while being present, which means while being conscious that you are thinking... still with us ?)
- Say to yourself: "I don't care" or "I'm not interested" or any kind of equivalent that suits you. Simulate real disinterest for your thoughts and their content.
Example: you think "I'm not going to sleep tonight, I'll be dead tired tomorrow". Say: "I don't care! ". Then, be aware of your attempt to simulate disinterest for disinterest. Get it ?
- By repeating the process over and over, little by little you will stop being interested in your thoughts and realize that those thoughts aren't very exciting after all.
