Search Programs SEARCH
    PROGRAMS

    Why can't I switch off at night?

    A single warmly lit window at dusk against quiet hills
    Short answer: For Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the mind often stays active at night because you've trained it, your whole life, only for action — it wants to keep going even when the body wants to rest. Often, on top of that, a mental to-do list keeps you awake. Embrace racing thoughts instead of fighting them, Gurudev says.

    What Gurudev says

    You know the feeling: you're lying in bed, your body is tired, but your head just keeps going. Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar explains where this pattern often comes from — and it has to do with a whole lifetime, not just this one night.

    But you’ve trained only in action — action, action — throughout life: for 70, 80 years, life has been a life of action. And now, at the end, the mind remains active — it wants to do so many things, but the body is not cooperative. There’s restlessness in the mind to act, but the body has no strength to act. So that makes them very, very miserable. Miserable — they can’t even be quiet for a little while. They can’t even listen to music calmly. Now they can’t even sleep. All this insomnia arises precisely from this —

    From a talk on the Ashtavakra Gita — "Acting Spontaneously", 00:40:18

    In everyday life this often shows up right before falling asleep — exactly the point where your head just won't let go.

    Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: When you are about to go to sleep, and if you keep thinking “I have to do this, I have to do that”, then will you be able to get restful sleep? What do you do when you sleep? You keep everything aside. Only then will you are able to get sleep.

    From the official Art of Living website — "The Power Of Self Reflection" (Aug 26 2016)

    And if it's thoughts that keep hold of you, Gurudev advises something that sounds unfamiliar at first: don't fight them, embrace them.

    Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Just embrace them. The more you try to push them away, the more they come. If obsessive thoughts come, give them a big hug and stay with them for a minute or two and you will see, they just disappear. Another way is to put a stick in the burning fire and watch it burn. That is how your thought is burning away. One more way is to watch a flowing river and how the water flows. As the current flows by, your thoughts also flow.

    From the official Art of Living website — "Where Love Is, God Is!" (Jul 17 2014)

    The common thread with Gurudev: fighting an active mind usually just makes it more active. Setting aside what still needs doing, and briefly welcoming thoughts instead of pushing them away, opens the way to rest more easily.

    What you can do

    1. Consciously set the mental to-do list aside. As long as you keep repeating "I still have to do this" in your head, the mind stays in action mode — write it down if you need to, then let it go.
    2. Embrace racing thoughts instead of pushing them away. Give a persistent thought your full attention for a minute or two, instead of fighting it.
    3. Watch the thought like flowing water passing by. Picture a river moving past — your thoughts can move on the same way, without you holding onto them.
    4. Remind yourself: the mind is allowed to do nothing too. After a life shaped heavily by action, it needs conscious permission to come to rest as well.

    Persistent insomnia is worth having checked by a doctor as well.

    Frequently asked questions

    How do I fall asleep faster? Gurudev recommends practicing some pranayama shortly before bed to fall asleep more easily. At the same time, he makes clear that sleep, like love and meditation, is something that can't be forced — the very effort of trying hard to fall asleep often becomes the obstacle itself.

    Can real rest be more than just sleep? Gurudev explains that each of the five senses can only deliver limited joy — constantly feeding it tends to wear you out over time instead. Real, deep rest, for him, comes when you return to your own inner source, not only when the body sleeps.

    What is the difference between resting and truly recovering? Gurudev draws a distinction: the thought "I need rest," or circling around your own exhaustion, tends to create restlessness, tiredness and self-pity — that's mere resting. True recovery, for him, comes instead from inner desirelessness and composure, independent of how much outer pressure exists at the moment.

    What is the difference between physical and mental exhaustion? Gurudev uses the example of people who were trained only for action their entire lives: the mind stays active and restless even when the body no longer has the strength to keep up — this mismatch is exactly where insomnia comes from, he says. For him, tiredness doesn't come only from physical exertion, but just as much from an overactive mind and a lot of talking, which can leave you exhausted even with enough sleep.

    Related questions

    Sources

    The quotes on this page come from:

    • Ashtavakra Gita — "Acting Spontaneously" (AG 25), 00:40:18–00:41:05
    • Official Art of Living website — "The Power Of Self Reflection" (Aug 26 2016)
    • Official Art of Living website — "Where Love Is, God Is!" (Jul 17 2014)