Middle of the Night Worries about the fate of our Democracy

I end every night (election season or not!) by listing my gratitude out loud. I do this with my partner, but you can do it alone as well. It’s nice to ground myself in the parts of the day that were enjoyable and positive! If a day is particularly horrendous, saying, “I’m grateful this day is over” is acceptable and cathartic. If I’m really wide awake and spiraling, I let myself sit in the anxiety and allow the feelings to move as they need to—forcing myself to “resolve” an unresolvable stressor doesn’t help much, if at all. Sometimes I’ll move into the living room and see if a change of scene helps. Accepting that I’ll be sleep-deprived weirdly helps. Being upset at myself for being, well, upset only makes everything worse. —Arminda Downey-Mavromatis, associate engagement editor

There’s some good research on warm showers or baths before bed because they help simulate a natural nighttime temperature drop!

“Rituals of any kind are good, so my sleepy bedtime beverages are, if nothing else, an excellent soothing placebo.”

—Rachel Feltman, host of the Science Quickly podcast, Scientific American

I make sure I get at least some kind of exercise every day. And I listen to podcasts to fall asleep. It keeps me from reciting endless to-do lists or focusing on worries. —Andrea Thompson, associate editor, sustainability

I hate to say it because booze is fun and possibly kick-started human agrarian civilization, but I quit drinking. One of the several reasons I’ve cut out alcohol was how annoying it was to wake up feeling like I hadn’t slept at all. Instead, recently, I’ve been attempting to drown my stress about our dysfunctional democracy in the new wave of flavorful nonalcoholic beers. With just a little self-deception, some of the hazier varieties taste almost as good as the real thing. I might feel crummy about the U.S. after Election Day, but I won’t be hung over! —Ben Guarino, associate editor, technology

When I can’t sleep, I like listening to the podcast Nothing Much Happens, in which the host, Kathryn Nicolai, tells bedtime stories. The Calm app also has bedtime stories, sometimes read by celebrities such as Matthew McConaughey. It’s very soothing! —Tanya Lewis, senior editor, health and medicine

I don’t get to do this enough at night, but I do go for a walk during the day with no music or podcast—just me and the sounds of my local environment. It lets my brain focus on what is tangible and in front of me rather than all the abstracts about news. —Megha Satyanarayana, chief opinion editor

I pick a category of things I know a bit about, and then I go through the alphabet and think of examples from that category that start with each letter—for instance, birds (avocet, bluebird, chickadee …) Lately I’ve been trying positive adjectives: Amazing! Beautiful! Clever! Delightful! —Laura Helmuth, editor in chief https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-election-anxiety-keeping-you-awake-sleep-experts-share-advice/