The most reliable way to stop overthinking at night is to deal with your worries before you get into bed, then give your mind something calm and boring to follow once you're there. Writing worries and next steps down earlier in the evening, making a quick to-do list for tomorrow, and getting up if you've been awake for about 20 minutes are all backed by sleep specialists.
Below are nine steps, what the research says about each, and where ASMR fits if you can't turn your brain off.
Why your brain won't turn off at night
During the day, work, people and screens keep your attention busy. In a dark, quiet bedroom, the unfinished business of the day has nothing to compete with.
Stress also works against sleep directly. A Cleveland Clinic behavioral sleep medicine specialist explains that stress raises your heart rate and cortisol levels, and that a stressed state keeps your natural sleep drive from doing its job (Cleveland Clinic, 2026).
The steps below work on both sides: fewer open loops when you lie down, and a calmer body and mind once you're there.
9 ways to stop overthinking at night
1. Schedule worry time in the early evening
This technique is often called "constructive worry." In the early evening, well before bed, write down three or more things on your mind and, next to each, the next step toward dealing with it. If the worry comes back at night, you remind yourself that it already has a plan and that you'll handle it tomorrow, when you're at your problem-solving best (Krystal et al., 2019).
The VA's insomnia program uses a simple three-question version: what am I worried about, is it something I can control, and what can I do about it (VA Constructive Worry Worksheet). Cleveland Clinic gives the same advice: set aside time earlier in the evening for a "brain dump" of worries, with what you can do about each one (Cleveland Clinic, 2026).
What the evidence shows is modest. In an early study of 33 college students with insomnia, those who wrote down worries and possible solutions for five nights had less mental arousal before sleep than a control group, but their sleep diaries and sleep trackers didn't change significantly (Carney, 2003). A 2025 trial of 186 adults found that a related method, postponing worry to a set time with specific plans, reduced daily worry but didn't improve sleep measures (McCarrick et al., 2025).
So treat worry time as a way to quiet the noise, not a sleep cure. It's free, takes a few minutes, and pairs well with the steps below.
2. Write tomorrow's to-do list before bed
If what keeps you up is everything you have to do tomorrow, put it on paper. In a Baylor University lab study, 57 healthy adults aged 18 to 30 spent five minutes before bed writing either a to-do list or a list of tasks they'd already completed. The to-do list group fell asleep about nine minutes faster, and people who wrote more specific lists fell asleep even faster (Baylor University, 2018).
The study involved one night in a sleep lab with healthy young adults, and the lead researcher noted it isn't known whether the results apply to people with insomnia (Baylor University, 2018). Still, it's an easy experiment. Use paper, not your phone, and be specific: "email Dan the invoice by 10" beats "work stuff."
3. Cut caffeine and alcohol earlier
A wired body makes for a busy mind. In a study published by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, a large dose of caffeine taken even six hours before bed cut total sleep by more than an hour, and participants didn't realize how much sleep they'd lost. The researchers suggest generally avoiding caffeine after 5 p.m. (AASM, 2013).
Alcohol can make you drowsy at first but disrupts sleep later in the night (Mayo Clinic). If you wake at 3 a.m. with your mind racing, a late drink is worth looking at.
4. Get off the feeds before bed
Scrolling news, work email or group chats in bed hands your brain fresh material to chew on. The CDC recommends turning off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime (CDC), and Mayo Clinic advises avoiding prolonged screen use just before bed (Mayo Clinic).
If you use your phone for audio, start it, set a timer, and put it face down. Listening is fine; reading and scrolling are what keep you engaged.
5. Slow your breathing
Slow breathing gives your attention a simple job and helps your body settle. The NHS suggests breathing gently into your belly, in through your nose and out through your mouth, counting to five on each breath in and each breath out if that helps, for at least five minutes (NHS). You may not reach five at first; that's fine.
6. Try cognitive shuffling
Cognitive shuffling (researchers call it "serial diverse imagining") swaps anxious, logical thinking for random, harmless images, a bit like the loose thoughts people have as they drift off. Here's how two sleep scientists describe it (The Conversation):
- Pick a random word, such as "cake."
- Take its first letter and think of words that start with it (cat, canoe, campfire), picturing each one.
- When you run out, move to the next letter and repeat.
- When you finish the word, pick a new one, or stop once you start to drift.
The method was popularized by Canadian researcher Luc Beaudoin. Those scientists write that his work suggests it can lower arousal before sleep and make falling asleep feel easier, but that research is still in its infancy and the method won't suit everyone. Give it a few nights.
7. Give your mind something gentle to follow
Overthinking feeds on silence. A calm voice or steady sound can give your attention somewhere to rest that doesn't ask anything of you. This is where many people use ASMR.
In the first large survey of ASMR viewers, 82% said they used it to help them sleep and 70% said they used it to deal with stress (Barratt & Davis, 2015). In a small 2023 interview study of students who use ASMR, distraction from overwhelming thoughts was one of the most common reasons they gave (Woods & Turner-Cobb, 2023).
For overthinking, three styles tend to fit best:
- Storytelling: a quiet voice reading or telling a story. It's easy to follow, and following it crowds out your own loop.
- Soft-spoken: a calm, low speaking voice rather than a whisper, closer to a late-night radio host than a performance.
- Trigger words: slow, repeated words that are close to meaningless, so there's nothing to analyze.
If a voice keeps you listening rather than drifting, switch to something with less content, like slow tapping or brushing. Keep the volume low and use a timer.
8. Get up if you're still awake after about 20 minutes
The goal is to keep your bed linked with sleep, not with lying awake and worrying. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends getting out of bed if you don't fall asleep after 20 minutes, doing something quiet in dim light without electronics, and returning when you feel sleepy (AASM). Mayo Clinic gives the same advice and suggests reading or soothing music (Mayo Clinic).
Don't watch the clock to time it; a rough sense is enough. This is part of "stimulus control," one of the core techniques in cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (ACP, 2016).
9. Keep the same wake-up time
After a bad night, sleeping in feels like the fix. AASM advises getting up at the same time every day anyway, including weekends (AASM). Cleveland Clinic's sleep specialist also suggests morning sunlight and exercise during the day to build up your drive to sleep by bedtime (Cleveland Clinic, 2026).
For more sleep basics, from room temperature to the military method, see how to fall asleep fast.
A simple evening plan
Put together, the steps look like this:
- Early evening: A few quiet minutes with a notepad. Write your worries and one next step for each.
- Before bed: Write tomorrow's to-do list, as specific as you can. Close the notebook.
- 30 minutes before bed: Phone off or on audio only. No news, email or social media.
- In bed: Slow breathing for a few minutes, then cognitive shuffling or a quiet ASMR story on a sleep timer.
- If you're still wide awake after about 20 minutes: Get up, sit somewhere dim, read something dull, and go back when you're sleepy.
- Next morning: Get up at your usual time, whatever the night was like.
Does ASMR help with racing thoughts?
It may help some people in the moment, mostly by being calming and giving the mind something to follow. Lab studies have found short-term mood improvements and a slower heart rate in people who experience ASMR, but a 2023 review of 54 studies found none showing long-term effects on mental health (Ruhr University Bochum, 2023).
ASMR isn't a treatment for anxiety or insomnia, and not everyone finds it relaxing. Some people find certain sounds irritating. Use it as one tool in the routine above, not as the whole plan. For a closer look at the research, read ASMR for anxiety.
On Tingly Room you can filter by voice, pace and length, so you can go straight to slow, soft-spoken videos long enough to fall asleep to. It's free, with no ads of its own and no third-party trackers, and videos play in YouTube's official player.
When to get help
Some nights of overthinking are normal, especially during a stressful stretch. Talk to a doctor if:
- Worry is hard to control on most days for six months or more, along with symptoms like restlessness, irritability, muscle tension or sleep problems. These are signs of generalized anxiety disorder, which is treatable (NIMH).
- You struggle to sleep at least three nights a week for three months or more, and it's affecting your days. That's the definition of chronic insomnia, and the American College of Physicians recommends cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) as the first treatment (ACP, 2016).
- Anxiety is getting in the way of work, school or relationships (NIMH).
A primary care doctor is a good place to start and can refer you to a mental health professional or a sleep specialist.
If your thoughts at night turn to harming yourself, or you're in crisis, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (US). It's free and confidential (988 Lifeline). If you're in immediate danger, call 911.
