Why the mind is loudest at night, and a handful of evidence-based habits that quieten it without a prescription.
At three in the morning the brain has no distractions and no one to talk to. Small worries look enormous, and the harder we try to sleep the more awake we feel.
Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, known as CBT-I, is the best-evidenced treatment and does not need medication. The core ideas are simple. Keep a regular wake time. Use the bed only for sleep. If you have been awake for what feels like twenty minutes, get up and do something dull in low light until you are sleepy.
A "worry window" earlier in the evening also helps. Write down what is on your mind, with one next step for each item, then close the notebook. You are teaching your brain that worries have a time and a place.
If sleep problems have lasted more than a few weeks, or come with low mood, speak to your GP and consider counselling. You do not have to put up with it.