I, along with a lot of friends my age, can have trouble sleeping at night, especially when waking up in the middle of the night. This can be made worse by “nocturia” or having to get up to pee one or more times per night, which is common among older folks. This can lead to problems getting back to sleep, especially if you have a “busy brain” that you don’t know how to turn off.
I got advice on how to fix this from a dear friend years ago that has worked well for me, and I try to pass it on to friends who have this problem. It helps if you know how to meditate. You don’t have to be very good at it, you can be a beginner (I gave beginner advice on meditation here). Most people with “busy brains” find their mind does not want to cooperate meditating, it wants to be flitting around from thought to thought (or worry to worry). Another problem when meditating is falling asleep. Here’s where the advice from my friend, who was also a meditator, comes in. In the middle of the night, she said to think to yourself, “great, this is the perfect time to meditate, because I won’t be troubled by falling asleep”. Your mind, which does not want to meditate, will see falling asleep as the lesser of two evils. Works like a champ for me.
Published
