Don’t Trust 3am Thoughts

Spark #109 - They’re not wise. They’re not real. Don’t listen.

Not helpful.

It’s 3:00am.
I’m staring at the ceiling.
My heart is racing. My mind busy.

Worry shows up first.
Followed by comparison.
And uncertainty.
A flood of thoughts I didn’t ask for.

I remembered something I’d heard on a podcast:
No thoughts are worth listening to at 3am.

It’s just the brain doing a late-night cleanout.¹

• Don’t engage.

• Don’t try to solve.

• Don’t go down that rabbit hole.

So I tried something.
Every time a thought showed up, I whispered:
Not helpful.
And again. And again.

I didn’t engage.
I let them pass.
And I fell back asleep.

Next time you wake up to a mental circus—
Don’t respond. Don’t believe it.
Just say:
Not helpful.
Then roll over. Let go.

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1. How the brain cleans itself during deep sleep. Nature (2025). https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00007-4