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EDaily anxiety can lead to sleepless nights — so add in existential fear about the future of democracy, and it’s probably safe to assume you’re not going to get much shut-eye on election night.

According to a recent survey by the American Psychological Association25% of adults have already lost sleep over the US presidential election, even before it enters its final feverish hours. Experts report hearing much the same thing. “I see nine clients a day and the election happens in six of those sessions,” says Alex Banta, a therapist in Columbus, Ohio. “This concerns everyone and it is completely normal to have difficulty sleeping before an election of this magnitude.”

Of course, when we don’t get a lot of sleep, we’re prone to increased feelings of stress, anxiety, and irritability. “Every time we lose sleep, we lose our emotional resilience,” says Banta. “We all have the ability to maintain and control our emotions, and if you don’t sleep, it will negatively impact this resource.” Sleep is refreshment; it’s how we clear our minds and process the events of the day. And this will be essential in the aftermath of the election, especially if things don’t go the way you hoped for your preferred candidate.

With that in mind, we asked experts to share their best tips for getting in some Z’s when you’re anxious.

Schedule “worry time”

During the evening, before you go to bed, set a timer for 5 minutes and consider it permission to panic to the fullest. Let in all the fears, worst-case scenarios, and doubts. The key, says Banta, is that you can’t actually be In bed. She usually eliminates her “worry time” when she is driving or walking. “What needs to happen in the end is what we call a state shift, which means you physically place your body somewhere else to signal to your brain that you’re done with that space,” says- She. That way, when you get out of the car or come back inside, “it signals to your brain and your body that you’ve done this work,” she says. “You have honored those thoughts and fears, and now you are moving on.” In his experience, when you go to bed, you’ll be much more likely to doze off quickly.

Learn more: How to Survive Election Season Without Losing Your Mind

Stick to your usual routine

If you usually go to bed at 11 p.m., you could give yourself a little wiggle room and stay up until 11:30 p.m. tonight. But as much as possible, treat it like any other Tuesday night and stay consistent, advises Cali Bahrenfuss, a clinical sleep health educator who owns Delta Sleep Coaching in Sioux Falls, SD. Otherwise, if you keep putting it off, “it’s going to be easy to stay up until midnight, and that can turn into 3, 4, or 5 hours,” she says. Especially since we won’t know While the election results may not be immediately apparent, there’s no point in expecting to be exhausted — and, therefore, even more emotionally fragile — the next day.

Put your phone in “Do not disturb” mode

Before bed, detach yourself from the device you’ve been glued to all day. In addition to using Do Not Disturb mode, which ensures you won’t be disturbed by incoming texts or calls, consider moving your phone to another room altogether. Otherwise, you’ll likely be inundated with a never-ending stream of texts from the family group chat and notifications from social media platforms. As Banta says: “Did you hear that? Did you see this? “And in reality,” she adds, “you have no control over the outcome. The winner will be announced the moment it is announced, so keep your peace of mind in the meantime.

Write down your thoughts

While you can’t change the final outcome of the election, you can change your mind, says Renee Carr, a Washington, D.C.-based psychologist who is moderating the event. Politics and psychology podcast. If you’re having trouble falling asleep, she suggests writing down everything that comes into your brain over and over again. In doing so, “you free your mind,” she says. He will no longer feel like he has to hold on to these insidious fear-based thoughts.

For every anxious thought you write down, Carr challenges you, record another one that’s more positive and hopeful. For example: “The smell of coffee when I wake up will remind me that I am alive for another day. This is important because when you imagine the worst, “your mind stays alert and tries to think of a solution to keep you safe and help you survive,” she says. “That’s why you can’t sleep.” By balancing these thoughts with happier notions, you will temper your body’s stress response system and become more relaxed, entering a state of rest rather than fear.

Think about what you are grateful for

It can be difficult to slow down your brain at night, even in the best of times, Bahrenfuss acknowledges. One way to ease anxiety and return to a more relaxed state is to think of things you are grateful for that have absolutely nothing to do with the election, but are more personal in nature. “Start small and be grateful for the air you breathe, the warm bed you lie in, the food you had for dinner, the friends who keep you company, the family who love you unconditionally,” says- She. Maybe you have a new grandson: think about how cute he looked in his Halloween costume and you might find you smile for the first time all day. Focusing on gratitude “changes your mindset from a negative space to a more positive space,” which helps facilitate restful sleep, says Bahrenfuss.

Learn more: 11 things to say to your loved one whose politics you hate

Use visualization tools

If you wake up at 3 a.m. paralyzed with anxiety, resist the temptation to reach for your phone. “It’ll wake up your brain and say, ‘Oh, it’s time to go.’ We are collecting data again,” says Banta. Instead, try falling back to sleep by visualizing something calming, like leaves floating in a stream or bubbles blowing in the air on a summer day. Some of his clients like to imagine a train full of bad thoughts arriving at a station and remind themselves that they don’t have to get on that train. They can choose to watch him leave, taking his cars full of worries with him. “You can gently let the thoughts come and go,” she says. “Observe them and let them pass.”

Look for mindless entertainment

It might seem silly to turn away from the news and read a light book or watch a silly movie while the election results come in, but you’d be doing yourself a favor. Bahrenfuss believes this redirects your thoughts to a more positive space, which can help you feel relaxed and allow sleep to occur more naturally. In this case, she says, a distraction is worth late-night screen time, which she would typically avoid. “I think in situations like this, there’s nothing wrong with breaking the rules a little,” she says. “I would rather someone turn on their favorite episode of Seinfeld and relax rather than continuing to sit there in their misery and letting their brain sink into this hole of worry for hours and hours.

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