A lot of times when we are stressed out we just focus on what we are stressed out about and in fact make it worse. We are all guilty of this as it is human nature. However, I have a lot going on right now in my life and have been really stressed the past few days. Last night, I was having a lot of trouble sleeping and I just couldn’t relax or get certain things out of my head. Instead of freaking out and thinking about how tired I was going to be the next day, I started reflecting on past places I’ve visited, things I’ve done and people I’ve met along the way. It’s funny how relaxing that can be and in no time I was ready to fall asleep.

It sounds really cliche to say put yourself in a place where you had a great time or on a beautiful beach or an exotic destination but it really does work I find. Last night I just kept putting myself in Fernando de Noronha, Brazil diving with giant sea turtles and just relaxing on the stunning beaches unspoiled by tourists as very few people actually go there. It is certainly one of my all time favorite places and to say it was relaxing would be an understatement of epic proportions. As I was mentally on Praia de Sancho, I found myself cooling down and eventually just was able to drift off to sleep.

I realize it’s not brain surgery to do this but it just kind of struck me last night that I do that often to fall asleep as I am sure many people do. For whatever reason, I just never really thought about it as an act to help me fall asleep as I did last night. So the next time you are having trouble sleeping, just think of your favorite places and put yourself there. It may just help you sleep.

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