aireyden,

When you wake up and start ruminating, get up and go write down your thoughts. Get the list written down so your brain can let go of it. use lists to take the burden off your brain.

I will get a though during the night and just get up. Go write it on my white board. Then I go back to bed. Sometimes I need to zone out on some Celtic Women.

Music with lyrics can occupy your thought processes so your body and brain can relax again. I can settle down listening to foreign language vocalists like Sarah Brightman or Il Divo.

I think reading would be OK as long as it does not create a need to wonder "what comes next." I can't read fiction. It causes too much frustration trying to follow the plot and different characters. I will read research publications and such.

I have used repetitive tasks to settle down. Anything that does not require creative or higher level thought processes.

I have been doing these pre-sleep routines for decades. Otherwise, my mind wants to go 100 mph.

I take gabapentin (Neurontin) to help my body and brain settle down. I forgot to take it last night until 3:00 am when I realized why I was still trying to get settled. Gabapentin is a very easy drug to take. It has an 8 hour half life so it is mostly gone from your blood stream by the morning.

I used to take 600 mgs but had to increase to 900 mgs and hour or so before bed. It is very good at helping my body relax. Otherwise, I tend to have restless legs and other body jerks. I also tend to get postural rigidity. My muscles will tense up, especially my upper back and my hands.

For years, I would sleep holding my wife's hand or with my hand on her thigh. I can't do that anymore because I will squeeze the life out of her hand or thigh. But, the gabapentin helps.

My best to you.