I wake up at 3am to 4am daily as a neighbor makes noise walking their dog. This cannot be helped. Once I am awake, my mind won’t stop going over details about everything from the mundane to the critical. Often, I am able to fall asleep again after three or more hours of wakefulness, but onlyinutes before I have tonwake for the day.
Does anyone have success with quieting the mind without substances so that they can fall back to sleep?
Put a Marpac Dohm white noise generator between you and the window. It’s basically a fan that’s modified to generate consistent white noise, and is somewhat adjustable (volume, tone for lack of a better term.).
It does take some getting used to, but once you do, it muffled a lot of noise. Any white noise generator will probably work, but my marpac has run for years with only needing to be opened once or twice for dust.
Another option is a thick comforter in the window (like curtains.)
Beyond mitigation, I keep some yarn and a crochet hook, and make stuffed animals for random kids of people I know. Crocheting for me hits the sweet spot between mindless and needs focus to still my mind.
My mom will do chores like folding laundry or dishes for a few minutes. Or sudoku.
Another option is meditation techniques- like meditative breathing will help with relaxing. Try breathing for a count of 3, holding to 6, exhaling to 9 (so each step has a 3-count in through the nose, out the mouth.)