Do you ever lie in bed, tired and ready to sleep, only to have your brain suddenly decide it’s the perfect time to replay a conversation from three years ago, or to remember you forgot to buy eggs for breakfast? This phenomenon is often called tired but wired.

This mental rollercoaster is a leading cause of insomnia and poor sleep for many. 

When you carry the mental load of the day into bed, your brain remains in problem-solving mode. The solution isn’t to force yourself to stop thinking—it’s to get those thoughts out of your head and onto paper before you even start getting ready to go to sleep.

This guide will teach you the skill of the pre-sleep brain dump. The 5-minute journaling method designed to clear mental clutter and signal to your nervous system that it is safe to rest.

The 3-Step Brain Dump Method

To make this effective, you don’t want to just write aimlessly. You want to move through three distinct phases: **Purge, Release, and Resolve.**

Grab a notebook and a pen (avoid your phone to minimize blue light), and work through these three sections. You don’t have to answer every single prompt; choose the ones you need to answer in order to feel better. Also, try to do this 1–2 hours before you actually go to bed. If you do it right before your head hits the pillow, you might feel too alert. Give yourself a buffer zone to unwind after writing. Choose calming activities for after the brain dump, like a shower, reading a fiction novel, drinking tea, and cuddling with a pet.

Step 1: The Purge

Write down every future task, errand, or project weighing on you.

The most common reason you can’t fall asleep is anxiety over future tasks. In this step, you are capturing all the open loops regarding your schedule and responsibilities.

Research shows that writing down future tasks helps you fall asleep significantly faster than writing about completed ones. It takes away the responsibility of remembering.

Use these prompts to scan your life and help you remember every task that is sitting in the back of your mind.

• What are the absolute “must-do” tasks for tomorrow?
• Is there an appointment or deadline later in the week/month?
• What is one small errand I forgot to do today that needs to be done tomorrow?
• Who do I need to call, text, or email?
• Are there any bills, subscriptions, or financial tasks due in the next 3 days?
• What will I/we eat tomorrow?
• Is there a birthday, anniversary, or event coming up that I need to prepare for?
• What household chores do I need to do tomorrow?
• Did I have a random idea or creative thought today that I don’t want to forget?
• Is there anything I can do tonight to make tomorrow easier?

Step 2: The Release 

Once all the tasks and obligations are out of the way, you might find emotional clutter left behind. This is the vague sense of anxiety, the replay of conversations, or the stress about life changes. If there is a nagging feeling or a stressful situation, get it out of your head and onto paper. Don’t judge it, don’t try to solve it; just name it.

Use these prompts to help unearth subconscious stressors so they don’t manifest as dreams or teeth grinding.

• What is the strongest feeling you’re having right now (e.g., guilt, excitement, overwhelm)?
• If I were to give my current stress level a number on a scale of 1-10, which would it be and why?
• Do I feel guilty about how productive I was (or wasn’t) today?
• Is there something out of my control that I am trying to control?
• What was the most draining part of my day today, and why?
• What is a decision I am trying to make that I am overthinking?
• What specific situation or conversation was I replaying in my mind today?
• What am I worrying about these days?
• What “What if…” scenarios is my brain contemplating these days? (Write it down to expose it).
• What is the “worst-case scenario” story I’m currently playing in my mind?
• Did I cross a personal boundary today, or did I let someone cross mine?
• Am I holding onto any anger or resentment toward someone?
• If my anxiety could speak, what is the main sentence it is repeating right now?

Step 3: The Resolve

Don’t skip this step because it’s very important. Writing down worries can sometimes make them feel more intense if you don’t “resolve” them in some way. This step tells your brain that you have a plan, so it can rest.

Use these prompts to finalize your brain dump. 

• Will the thing I am worried about matter 5 days from now? 5 months from now? 5 years from now?
• For every worry you wrote, write one tiny action you can take to deal with it.
• For every worry, ask yourself, what will happen if you do nothing?
• What is completely out of my control regarding tomorrow? 
• What is one thing about today that I can count as a win, no matter how small?
• What is one thing I’m looking forward to tomorrow? (If you can’t think of anything, make a plan to do something.)
• What do I need to forgive myself for?
• Who is one person I am grateful to have in my life?
• What is one moment from today that makes me smile when thinking about it?
• In what ways can I protect my energy tomorrow?

Tonight, try this three-step brain dump. Purge the tasks, release the worries, resolve, and enjoy the silence. By using a pre-sleep brain dump, you give your mind permission to rest, ensuring you wake up refreshed and ready for whatever tomorrow brings.