Sleep and lack thereof
I was amazed to learn (through the TV) a couple of weeks ago that fretting and worrying and thinking about unfinished business and cash problems and responsibilities and all that stuff is actually triggered by a chemical process in the brain. The upshot of it was that it’s OK to worry and fret at night, and that it’s totally counterproductive to start worrying about the fact that you’re worrying about something (you get the idea, right?). This can be a vicious circle.
Funny as it seems, this knowledge has helped me sleep better. Knowing that it’s just some ol’ chemical kicking in at three in the morning, rather than legitimate worries and problems, is a really comforting thought. Once my brain’s woken up enough to perform this process of reflection, I can easily get back to sleep.
Now I hope I don’t start worrying about wether this whole information was just a placebo PSA to help worrying insomniacs like myself.
[Update] Oh yeah, I heard that exercise and a healthy diet are also supposed to help. But who would really want to do that?
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