How to Sleep after Watching, Seeing, or Reading Something Scary
Focus on something else before sleep., Listen to soothing music., Count sheep., Concentrate on your breath., Try other calming activities.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Focus on something else before sleep.
Before going to bed, try to focus on something less scary—happy even.
This will get your mind off whatever it is that scared you and the distraction can help you get to sleep.
There are lots of ways to distract yourself to sleep.
Think of a happy memory.
You may have a happy childhood memory or even a more recent memory that, if you focus on it, could help you distract yourself from whatever fear you are experiencing as a result of watching a scary movie, etc.
Find an object in the room where you sleep to focus on.
In your mind, think about how you would describe this object to another person.
What is its shape? How would you describe its contours? Does it remind you of anything? What? Where did you obtain this object? From whom? Simple chains of questions like this can get you thinking about something else entirely and soon you will forget whatever scary thing was haunting you long enough to sleep. -
Step 2: Listen to soothing music.
Whatever kind of music you find soothing, play it softly as you attempt to drift off to sleep.
Music can be helpful in getting to sleep either before or as you go to sleep.If you associate silence with whatever scared you, concentrating on soothing music can help distract you enough to get to sleep comfortably.
If you play a musical instrument, try to concentrate on how you might play your chosen soothing music yourself.
What key is it in? What is the time signature? Again, going through these kinds of questions can distract you from your fear, and the next thing you know, you'll be waking up! , It might sound silly, but the same kinds of methods you might use to fall asleep when you aren't scared might help with falling asleep when you are.
Counting sheep is simply imagining sheep in your mind's eye as you try to fall asleep, and assigning a number to each one.
Mental exercises like this can help you get to sleep.You don't have to limit yourself to sheep — imagine the entire animal kingdom if it helps! Let your imagination give detail to the animals you imagine, sheep or otherwise.
Concentrate on their fleece/fur, hooves/feet, etc.
Again, you are trying to distract yourself, so the more detail you imagine, the more likely you are to stop being scared and start falling asleep. , One way people who meditate enter a tranquil state is by concentrating on their breath as they breathe.This can be an effective way to help you fall asleep as well.
One way to concentrate on the breath to clear your mind of fears and fall asleep is to count breaths.
Count each breath you take after you breathe out and you might be able to enter a tranquil enough state to fall asleep in spite of your fear.
Another way to concentrate on the breath is by saying to yourself "in" and "out" as you breathe in and out.
You don't have to speak out loud, but just to yourself say "in" as you breathe in, and "out" as you breathe out, and so on. , In addition to deep breathing, activities like meditation, yoga, progressive muscle relaxation, or positive visualization can help relax you and calm your sympathetic nervous system, which is heightened due to the fear response.
This is the system responsible for your flight or fight response, which can cause your heart rate to increase and cause body to release adrenaline, which will make it hard to sleep.
These calming activities can help relax your sympathetic nervous system, which may help you get to sleep. -
Step 3: Count sheep.
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Step 4: Concentrate on your breath.
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Step 5: Try other calming activities.
Detailed Guide
Before going to bed, try to focus on something less scary—happy even.
This will get your mind off whatever it is that scared you and the distraction can help you get to sleep.
There are lots of ways to distract yourself to sleep.
Think of a happy memory.
You may have a happy childhood memory or even a more recent memory that, if you focus on it, could help you distract yourself from whatever fear you are experiencing as a result of watching a scary movie, etc.
Find an object in the room where you sleep to focus on.
In your mind, think about how you would describe this object to another person.
What is its shape? How would you describe its contours? Does it remind you of anything? What? Where did you obtain this object? From whom? Simple chains of questions like this can get you thinking about something else entirely and soon you will forget whatever scary thing was haunting you long enough to sleep.
Whatever kind of music you find soothing, play it softly as you attempt to drift off to sleep.
Music can be helpful in getting to sleep either before or as you go to sleep.If you associate silence with whatever scared you, concentrating on soothing music can help distract you enough to get to sleep comfortably.
If you play a musical instrument, try to concentrate on how you might play your chosen soothing music yourself.
What key is it in? What is the time signature? Again, going through these kinds of questions can distract you from your fear, and the next thing you know, you'll be waking up! , It might sound silly, but the same kinds of methods you might use to fall asleep when you aren't scared might help with falling asleep when you are.
Counting sheep is simply imagining sheep in your mind's eye as you try to fall asleep, and assigning a number to each one.
Mental exercises like this can help you get to sleep.You don't have to limit yourself to sheep — imagine the entire animal kingdom if it helps! Let your imagination give detail to the animals you imagine, sheep or otherwise.
Concentrate on their fleece/fur, hooves/feet, etc.
Again, you are trying to distract yourself, so the more detail you imagine, the more likely you are to stop being scared and start falling asleep. , One way people who meditate enter a tranquil state is by concentrating on their breath as they breathe.This can be an effective way to help you fall asleep as well.
One way to concentrate on the breath to clear your mind of fears and fall asleep is to count breaths.
Count each breath you take after you breathe out and you might be able to enter a tranquil enough state to fall asleep in spite of your fear.
Another way to concentrate on the breath is by saying to yourself "in" and "out" as you breathe in and out.
You don't have to speak out loud, but just to yourself say "in" as you breathe in, and "out" as you breathe out, and so on. , In addition to deep breathing, activities like meditation, yoga, progressive muscle relaxation, or positive visualization can help relax you and calm your sympathetic nervous system, which is heightened due to the fear response.
This is the system responsible for your flight or fight response, which can cause your heart rate to increase and cause body to release adrenaline, which will make it hard to sleep.
These calming activities can help relax your sympathetic nervous system, which may help you get to sleep.
About the Author
Lauren Murphy
Enthusiastic about teaching pet care techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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