Many people suffer from sleep disorders, which affect the functioning of their body. But the brain dump, a method that can help improve rest, could be the solution to their problems.
Sleep needs and rhythms are different for each of us. On average, an adult sleeps between 7 and 8 hours per night. But heavy sleepers may need 10 or 11 hours of sleep. While for short sleepers, 3 or 4 hours is enough. To recharge your batteries, you must adapt to your own sleep rhythm and learn to regulate it. Unfortunately, this can sometimes be complicated when worries or intrusive thoughts take over in the evening. You then find yourself tossing and turning in your bed for hours (or sometimes all night). As a bonus, the next day, bad mood and irritation are the order of the day. Not a great state of mind to spend the day at the office…
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Fortunately, there are solutions that can help. This is the case of the “brain dump”, or “brain dump” in French. This technique is close to journaling, or the act of writing down your day and its significant events in a journal. On the other hand, for the “brain dump”, it is much faster. We’ll explain!
How does the “brain dump” technique work?
THE “brain dump” is done using a newspaper and a pencil. As for the journaling, it is practiced in the evening before going to sleep. The idea? Write all your anxieties of the day and make a to-do list of things to do the next day, the following week or why not next year. Whether we like it or not, our fears can prevent us from doing this or that thing. We must therefore do workintrospection, little by little, throughout our lives. The brain dump is a good start. In addition, by writing down your torments, you will be able to discover your instinctive fears, classify them and put them into perspective. It is a way of materializing your thoughts.
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So that the “brain dump” works best, you have to be as spontaneous as possible. This list of anxieties and activities to do must then be sorted by sector. If you have bills, decoration changes or even errands to do, you will put all of that in the “house” sector. If you have heartbreak, friendship concerns, or family problems, you will put them in the “relationships” area. This also applies to professional anxieties. Writing down your fears will free your mental load and let you sleep in peace. Plus, you don’t even need to watch out for spelling or grammar mistakes.
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Why does writing impact our emotions and goals?
Putting our emotions on paper has a positive impact on self-confidence and how we manage it on a daily basis. Several studies have been carried out on this subject. One of them, written by James Whiting Pennebaker, professor of psychology at the University of Texas, focuses on the effects of writing on young people who have had trauma or are suffering from illnesses. The results showed several benefits: reduced stress, improved immune system functioning and reduced depressive symptoms.
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Writing also helps us achieve our goals. Our intentions come from our thoughts, but they are fleeting. So it’s not clear in our minds, because they haven’t been done yet. On the other hand, writing down our goals can allow us to materialize them and make them a little more real. Writing mobilizes at least 3 senses: sight, touch and hearing. By using these 3 out of 5 senses, our goals become anchored within us and become apparent. We see what we write, we touch our pen or pencil and we hear the sound of the paper. Writing is a way of making a choice. This is the first step to realizing and relaxing…for a good night’s sleep!