Ruminating and overthinking

Manage rumination by noticing and reframing stress, shifting attention through activity or a calming environment, and writing worries down before bed.

1. Elissa Epel’s three approaches: Use top-down awareness and mindset shifts; work stress through the body with physical activity; or change your surroundings to a calming place and add safety cues such as comforting objects, pets, or music. 1

2. Notice stress and redirect attention: Check where tension is held in your body—Epel describes this awareness as a first step toward releasing it. When thoughts loop, shift focus away from the rumination; Matthew Walker suggests practices such as meditation, breathing, or a body scan to get the mind off itself. 2 3

3. Recognize and reframe repetitive thoughts: Repeatedly treating thoughts as true or endlessly problem-solving can keep the mind in threat mode. Epel recommends awareness and constructive mindset shifts; writing or talking through a recurring belief can also help examine it differently rather than repeating the same unhelpful loop. 4 5

4. Matthew Walker’s worry journal: Write concerns down about an hour or two before bed to get them out of your head; Walker says studies found this reduced the time it took to fall asleep. 6