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Can’t sleep?

A quiet page for the middle of the night. You don’t have to force sleep. Put your worries down for the morning, give your mind something gentle and boring to do, slow your breathing, and let your body loosen. Everything here works in the dark, with the screen dimmed.

If the night feels like too much

Thoughts of hurting or killing yourself, or you just need to talk: call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. It answers 24/7, including at 3 a.m., and you don’t have to be suicidal to call. En español, marca 2.
Rather text? Text HOME to 741741 (Crisis Text Line, 24/7).
In danger, or a medical emergency (chest pain, trouble breathing, someone can’t be woken): call 911.

Private by design. Nothing you tap or type here is sent anywhere. The worries you park stay in this browser on this device, and one button erases them. This page runs no analytics or tracking. How we handle privacy.

The short version

Put it down. Write what’s on your mind on paper, with one small thing you could do about it tomorrow. Then close the notebook.
Shuffle your thoughts. Pick a word, like blanket. For each letter, think of words that start with it and picture each one for a few seconds.
Breathe slowly. In for 4, out for 6, for a few minutes. Let the out-breath be the longer one.
Loosen your body. From your hands to your feet, tighten each part gently for 5 seconds, then let it go for 10.
Awake a long time? Get up, go somewhere dim, do something quiet and dull, and come back to bed when your eyes feel heavy. Turn the clock away.

With JavaScript on, this page gives you a notebook for the morning, a word shuffle, a breathing guide, a body relaxation guide and a black screen.

Good to know

One bad night is survivable

You may feel rough tomorrow, but you will get through the day. Trying hard to sleep tends to keep you awake, so the aim here is rest, not sleep. Lying quietly with your eyes closed still rests your body.

Everything looks worse at 3 a.m.

Problems that feel huge in the dark often look smaller and more solvable in daylight. That’s why this page asks you to park them rather than solve them now.

Hide the clock

Checking the time and counting the hours left adds pressure. Turn the clock away and put your phone face down when you’re done with this page.

Go easy on the quick fixes

Alcohol can make you drowsy but tends to break up sleep later in the night. Caffeine and nicotine keep you alert for hours. Don’t take more of a sleep medicine than your prescriber or the label says.

The word shuffle is based on the “cognitive shuffle” described by the cognitive scientist Luc Beaudoin. Getting up when you can’t sleep is a common suggestion from sleep specialists. We are not connected with either; this page is our own plain-language take.

When to talk to a doctor

If it keeps happening: trouble sleeping most nights for a few weeks, or it’s wearing down your days. There are treatments for long-term insomnia that don’t rely on pills, and a doctor can check for causes like pain, medicines or mood.
If someone says you snore loudly, stop breathing or gasp in your sleep, or you’re very sleepy in the day even after a full night. Tell a doctor; these can be signs of a sleep problem that needs checking.
If nightmares keep coming, especially after something frightening happened to you. A doctor or counselor can help, and there are treatments for this too.
Getting ready for the appointment? A mood and sleep diary keeps a record of your nights, and appointment prep helps you say what you need to say.

More help

Too much all at once? Breathe and ground (including 5, 4, 3, 2, 1) or check in with yourself.
A hard night that keeps coming back? Make a safety plan on a calmer day, and fill a box for hard days with things that help.
Wanting a drink or something else to knock you out? Ride out an urge first.
All our free tools and Get help now.

General ideas from people who care, not medical advice. This page can’t diagnose a sleep problem or replace a doctor. If you feel very unwell, call 911.

This page, its prompts and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). Scarlet Beast is an open door for neurodivergent people and people with records, and this is for anyone. Found a mistake? Email [email protected].