How to Quiet your Brain and Get to Sleep

Getting to sleep can feel like a herculean task at the end of the day. Which is really the cruelest time for a herculean task to pop up for ADHD brains, right? The tank is empty and so doing the things that you need to in order to get the rest your brain needs to fill the tank? Ugh!! It’s the definition of ADHD symptoms getting in the way of ADHD treatment!

But why is it so hard? Sleep seems like it should just be something that we fall into like a warm tub on a cold and rainy day. Why is it that our oh-so-sleepy brains refuse to do just the thing that would make them feel better?

Landing the Plane

Our brains are like an airplane. During the day, while we’re working, playing, and otherwise interacting with the world, we are high above the clouds at a comfortable cruising altitude. In order to sleep, however, we have to come in for a landing. But just like a plane, we can’t do that in an instant. We can’t nose dive from 30,000 feet and expect to land safely the minute we want to. We have to prepare. We have to start our slow, gradual descent well ahead of time to get where we need to go.

For most of our brains, this takes about an hour. An hour of separation from screens, from work, and from other stimulating activities (like socializing or creative projects) to get our brain sleepy enough to land that plane.

The Problem with Screens

Why screens keep us up — Does hearing that screens are keeping you from sleeping make you groan? *I hear you.* Watching a show, cuddled on the couch with my hubby, is one of my favorite ways of chilling at the end of the day, too. And I want to do as much of it as possible- I don’t want to stop an hour early so my brain can quiet down. .
But the thing is, while screens are a great way of getting some of the passive enjoyment we all crave at the end of the day, they have 2 major issues:

They emit blue light which inhibits your brain’s production of melatonin (aka sleepy juice)
They’re black holes. Whether it is the next episode countdown, hyperlinks, or endless newsfeeds, screens have been developed specifically to keep you absorbed long past your original purpose.

Coming in for a landing

The hour before you go to bed is your opportunity to start to slow down and shut down. It’s your time to disconnect from your life, its stresses and worries, and, one by one, shut down the various operating systems of your brain.

One of the biggest objections I hear, though, when I talk about shutting screens off an hour before sleep, is- what will I do?

I get that. We spend so much of our time devoted to screens it can feel hard to fill our time without them. I also know that sometimes extra-active brains can feel frantic when suddenly faced with only themselves to occupy it. But there are lots of things that you can do, without a screen, that can help you distance yourself from the stress, anxiety, excitement, and racing brain that fuels your life, and start landing that plane.

Landing hour activities

Here is a list of suggestions to help get you started:

how to quiet your brain — Creating an evening ritual with a few of these activities will help your brain slow down and get ready for its landing.

So, grab a paper and pencil and start by brainstorming some things that you might enjoy doing in the hour before sleep. Now, add in the things you need to do (i.e., brush your teeth, lock up the house, get into your PJs) and create an order that makes sense. Use this order to create a routine that you can follow each night to signal to your brain that the shutdown is coming. (Check out my routine creation workbook for more tips on how to make this work).

These calm, soothing rituals will start to shut down your brain, slow down your body, and help you come in for a smooth, gentle landing.

What helps you land your plane? Share your favorite bedtime rituals below.

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