A racing mind is one of the most common reasons people can't sleep, and it's very treatable — not by trying harder to sleep (which backfires) but by lowering arousal and, for chronic insomnia, retraining the whole system. The gold standard here isn't a supplement; it's CBT-I.
For chronic insomnia, cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is the recommended first-line treatment — ahead of any drug. It's about as effective as sleeping pills in the short term and more effective long-term, because it fixes the habits and thoughts that perpetuate insomnia rather than masking them, with no dependence. It's increasingly available as effective apps (Sleepio, Somryst). Evidence ●●●●●
Slow, exhale-emphasised breathing shifts you toward the parasympathetic 'rest' state that permits sleep. A Stanford trial found five minutes a day of 'cyclic sighing' (a double inhale, then a long exhale) beat mindfulness for calming — and the 4-7-8 pattern and the single physiological sigh work the same way. Free, fast, and genuinely calming when the mind won't settle. Evidence ●●●○○
Mindfulness meditation has a real trial behind it for older adults' sleep, and NSDR / yoga nidra (guided 'non-sleep deep rest') is a benign way to rest deeply after a bad night and to drift off. Just don't believe the claim that NSDR replaces actual sleep — that part is untested and probably untestable. Evidence ●●●○○
You can't force sleep
Trying harder to sleep makes it worse. The move is to lower arousal (breathwork, NSDR) and, if insomnia is chronic, retrain the system with CBT-I — rather than reaching for a pill that treats the symptom and not the loop.
The Sleep Guide