Idea Parking

Intrusive Thoughts

Many people with anxiety find it difficult to fall asleep because, as soon as they lie down, their minds become active thinking about what happened during the day and what needs to be done the next day.

These types of thoughts that tend to pop into our heads are called intrusive thoughts. They're not very pleasant, as they tend to keep us awake right when we're trying to sleep.

Because of these thoughts, many people turn to medication. When a person is sedated enough, the thoughts stop appearing. But these medications often come with other negative effects on our bodies, so it's necessary to find another solution to avoid them.

The worst thing to do when you notice your mind becoming active with these intrusive thoughts at night is to try to force them out of your mind.

As soon as you try not to think about something, your mind constantly checks whether you're thinking about it. The result is that you think even more about what you're trying not to think about!

Want to see how true this is? Let's do a little exercise...

TRY NOT TO THINK about a little pink elephant with yellow polka dots...

Okay. You hadn't even thought about this little elephant before, but it appeared in your head as soon as you read the sentence above, right?!

Exactly! The act of trying to suppress thoughts requires a lot of concentration and mental effort at a time when you want to relax and prepare to fall asleep!

Idea Parking

The secret is to get the worries and thoughts out of your head. Pending issues in our minds tend to generate anxiety until you give them direction, which is known as the "Zeigarnik effect," a term created in honor of psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik.

By writing down these issues and getting them out of your head, this alone can bring enough peace of mind for you to sleep better.

It's usually productive to include thoughts or worries that you know regularly occur during the night. Simply writing down these thoughts and concerns can immediately make them a bit less bothersome.

However, the real value of this strategy comes when these thoughts return during the night. When they appear, acknowledge them and try not to fight them. Then, remind yourself that you've already addressed these thoughts at a time when you were more alert and better able to evaluate and process them.

So, it doesn't make sense to deal with them again. Tell yourself "I've already dealt with this and it's all written down in my idea parking."

If a new worry comes up, tell yourself that you'll deal with it tomorrow during your next Idea Parking session the following day.

If the problem is so urgent that you need to solve it now, get out of bed and go solve it!

But my problem is waking up in the middle of the night, not falling asleep—does this work for me?

There are many reasons why people can't sleep through the night. These include hormonal changes, physical discomfort, breathing problems, medication side effects, and "sleep saboteurs" like alcohol and marijuana.

One of the biggest reasons for nighttime awakenings, however, is worry¹². When there's excessive worry, it leads to activation of the sympathetic nervous system and, as a consequence, you feel more anxious. Even while your body is relaxed, your mind can tell stories about problems you need to solve, calls you need to make, things you need to do, etc.

Therefore, practicing the idea parking technique makes perfect sense, as it helps you deal with these stressors and avoid nighttime awakenings³.