Short answer
Think about something calm, vivid and low in emotion that you cannot plan or solve: a slow walk through a familiar place, a detailed peaceful scene, or a stream of random objects as in the cognitive shuffle. Avoid tomorrow's tasks and anything you could argue with. Imagery tends to hold attention better than counting.
Key takeaways
- Pick thoughts that are vivid but low in emotion.
- Avoid anything you can plan, solve or argue with.
- Counting is often too dull to hold attention. Imagery works better for many people.
On this page
Why the content of your thoughts matters
When you cannot sleep, the mind tends to fill the space with whatever is unresolved: work, money, a conversation that went badly. Those thoughts are emotionally loaded, and emotion is arousing. Trying to push them away keeps them in the spotlight.
A 2002 study by Allison Harvey and Suzanna Payne in Behaviour Research and Therapy compared ways of handling unwanted thoughts before sleep in people who struggled to sleep. The group asked to use imagery distraction, holding an engaging but calm scene in mind, fell asleep sooner and reported less distress about their thoughts than groups given general distraction or no instruction. The lesson is that you do better replacing thoughts than suppressing them.
Thoughts that tend to work
- A slow, detailed walk. Picture a route you know well, such as your childhood street, and walk it in your mind, noticing doors, trees and colors. Go slowly.
- Room-by-room tours. Mentally furnish a house you would like to live in, one room at a time. Keep it about objects, not budgets.
- Random objects. Think of a word, then picture unrelated things that start with each letter: a bucket, an umbrella, a carrot. This is the idea behind the cognitive shuffle.
- A repeating scene. Rain on a window, waves on a shore, a canoe drifting. The same scene every night becomes a cue.
- Bodily sensation. If pictures do not come easily, move attention through the body instead with a body scan.
How Soften Sleep fits in
Alongside breathing, there's a cognitive shuffle mode for a mind that won't stop talking. Free to download on the App Store.
Thoughts to avoid
Steer away from anything with stakes. Planning tomorrow, replaying an argument, imagining a future success or rehearsing a hard conversation all keep the brain in problem-solving mode. Fantasies can be risky too: an exciting daydream may be pleasant but it raises arousal.
What about counting sheep? It is famously dull, which is the problem. Counting does not hold attention well enough, so worries slip back in between numbers. If you like counting, count backward from 300 in threes, which takes a bit more focus.
Screens are their own trap. Reading news or messages in bed hands your mind fresh material to chew on, which is the opposite of what you want.
When thoughts keep coming back
If the same worry keeps returning, give it somewhere to go before you get into bed. A short study in 2018 found that people who spent five minutes writing a specific to-do list before bed fell asleep faster than people who wrote about tasks they had already done. Write it, close the notebook, and tell yourself it is handled until morning.
A small pilot trial in 2011 compared constructive worry done earlier in the evening, imagery distraction and gratitude, and found that each was followed by better self-reported sleep. You can mix them: worry on paper in the evening, use imagery in bed.
If your mind is racing at full speed, slowing your breathing first, as in 4-7-8 breathing, can make imagery easier to hold.
Sources
- Harvey, A. G., & Payne, S. (2002). The management of unwanted pre-sleep thoughts in insomnia: distraction with imagery versus general distraction. Behaviour Research and Therapy. doi.org
- Scullin, M. K., et al. (2018). The effects of bedtime writing on difficulty falling asleep: A polysomnographic study comparing to-do lists and completed activity lists. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. doi.org
- Digdon, N., & Koble, A. (2011). Effects of constructive worry, imagery distraction, and gratitude interventions on sleep quality: A pilot trial. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being. doi.org
Soften Sleep is a wellness tool designed to promote relaxation and help manage occasional sleeplessness. It is not a medical device and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent insomnia or any medical sleep disorder. If you are experiencing chronic sleep issues, please consult a qualified healthcare provider.
FAQ
What should I think about to fall asleep fast?
Calm, vivid images with no emotional stakes, such as a slow walk down a familiar street or a list of unrelated everyday objects.
Does counting sheep actually work?
For many people it is too dull to hold attention, so worries return. Detailed imagery tends to work better.
How do I stop thinking about tomorrow in bed?
Write tomorrow's tasks down before bed, then switch to imagery once you are lying down.
Want this as a one-tap rescue?
Soften Sleep keeps quiet breathing and word prompts ready on your iPhone for the next time you wake up.