• nodsocket@lemmy.world
      0·
      11 months ago
      1. Do all the usual sleep advice: no caffeine the day before, no electronics in bed, no bright lights, etc. Make sure the only thing keeping you awake is anxiety.
      2. If anxiety is the only thing keeping you up, then the only way to get sleep is to reduce the anxiety. Different things will work for different people, it’s worth experimenting to see what works best. There are a million different ways.
      3. If you can’t calm down, just accept that you may not get any sleep. For the vast majority of situations, a night without sleep will not hurt you or your performance as much as you think. Sometimes the best way to calm down is to realize that the stakes are not as high as you imagined and that you are going to be okay.
      • illah@lemmy.world
        0·
        11 months ago

        Bonus tip re: your last bullet is just try and lay in bed and keep your eyes closed, almost like an extended meditation. I let my mind wander etc not like a structured meditation, but just try and physically rest. This def takes the sting out of lack of sleep.

        Also, a big part of dark bags under your eyes is not letting them rest. This helps a ton with that even if I’m only getting a handful of true sleep hours on a given night. And psychologically, not having the “heavy eyes” feeling helps when I’m awake.

        • Ooops@kbin.social
          01·
          11 months ago

          even if I’m only getting a handful of true sleep hours

          Wait… you get more than a handful on a regular night? Now I envy you.