“My Racing Mind Keeps Me Up at Night; It’ll Be the Death of Me”
How to deal with distressing thoughts about your sleep.
Posted April 16, 2026 | Reviewed by Michelle Quirk
You’re lying in bed, awake, again, and the thought train is barreling down the tracks, loaded with all the things you need to worry about: Did I say the right thing in that meeting? My mind can’t stop racing. It’s every time that my head hits the pillow. This racing mind will be the death of me. Why won’t that Bad Bunny song stop looping through my brain?
Our minds can be our best friends. They help us solve problems, connect with others, and find meaning in an otherwise chaotic and random world. But they can also be the source of some of our most troublesome challenges and suffering. If you struggle with sleep, this probably lands. When you can’t sleep, you naturally worry that it’ll ruin your next day—you likely have strong evidence supporting that belief.
These beliefs are challenging because of our relationship to our mind. Our minds are narrated in our voice; therefore, it’s completely one with who we think we are. This is culturally embedded in Western thought thanks to Descartes: I think therefore I am . But when thinking of philosophy and mental health, I prefer Alan Watts, who points us eastward, noting that the mind is a good servant but a bad master. So how do we transform something so powerfully identified with our core sense of self into a tool to help us take it easy?
Sometimes we do have a lot on our minds, which is why it’s best not to take our worries to bed. Behavioral sleep specialists suggest good sleep hygiene, which includes wind-down time, where one sets aside time in the evening, about an hour before bed, to process the day’s worries. You sit, journal and pen in hand, list out your to-dos and your worries, then tag each one based on whether you can solve it. If it’s solvable, break it down into steps to do the next day. Exploring the steps and potential challenges to solving a problem will help you think through it on the page as opposed to in your head. Once it’s planned out, it may be easier to let it go. If a problem or worry is beyond your control—like geopolitical issues—then acknowledge that the worry is above your pay grade. That doesn’t mean measures can’t be taken. You can volunteer and join organizations that help make change. But you won’t gain much from worrying about it that night.
Stoic philosophers used a similar practice to manage their worries. This was during the Roman Empire, when a tyrant’s caprice could reduce you to penury or the penitentiary. It’s a useful tool, but what do you do if that doesn’t work? It wouldn’t be surprising if it didn’t fully work; as long as you’re thinking about your worry, you’re going to worry about it. That’s because there’s an association between worry and not worrying. As helpful as it is to journal at night, an alternative would be to use skills found in acceptance and commitment therapy . These require you to be aware and open to engaging with the anxiety rather than trying to solve it.
For instance, if you thought of a pink elephant and then I said not to think of a pink elephant, what happens? You’re thinking about it. Why? Because the phrase is in the sentence, meaning is coordinated and transferred between them. That’s partly why we get stuck in thoughts and behaviors. If you experience insomnia in bed while also having the thought that you can’t fall asleep, then the bed becomes where that thought takes place. Getting out of bed changes the context of where worry occurs.
Next time, try this: Go to another room, light a candle, and place the candle close to you. Imagine that the candle represents your worry. Notice how close your worry is in proximity to your body. Now move the candle a bit away. Imagine that your thoughts can also be distanced. Notice what else is in the room. When the candle is closer, you’re closer to your thoughts, and other items in the room are blurred. When the candle is distanced, you’re able to see other things along with the candle. It’s not all there is.
This distancing technique can be done with mindfulness . As you notice the changes in your visual field, begin to notice sounds, too. Each occurs on its own and is experienced in consciousness, much as your thoughts are. Let them all occur as a happening. Notice them in a passive voice: Sounds can be heard; thoughts can be heard. Notice sensations in the body. These, too, are occurrences in consciousness. Getting out of bed and the distancing of the candle represent the shift of perspective. This can help you learn to accept worry as a normal experience in consciousness, but not a permanent nor fully consuming one.
To find a therapist, visit the Psychology Today Therapy Directory .
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Reuben Brody, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker associate. He works at Brody Wellbeing, PLLC.
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This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.