How To Appreciate Your Monkey Brain

First off, for those who don't already know, let me tell you what your Monkey Brain is. It is the part of your brain that keeps you awake at night reminding you of all the things you didn't get done.

Sound familiar?

It happens to most of us at one time or another and not only does it cause us sleepless nights, it also can exacerbate stress. So you might be wondering why anyone would want to appreciate it?

Well, our brains were never designed to hold and process the amount of information that comes our way each day. All the emails, text messages, FaceBook messages, reminders, company systems communicating new processes etc. etc. In addition to us having to keep on top of all of this information, we have jobs to do and responsibilities at home. So on any typical day, we either jump from one task to the other based on a to-do list or by addressing what seems to be the most important item at any given moment, including reading all of the communication.

We all do our best to keep on top of it all and do a pretty good job of it.

At the end of the day, we are ready for a good nights sleep, we do all the right things to help us relax and hop into bed. Pull the covers up close our eyes and - Hello Monkey Brain. This is when our unconscious mind, AKA Monkey Brain, starts to remind you of all the things that you still need to do and try as you might you can't get back to sleep.

This is the subconscious mind doing its job making sure you don't forget anything important. Because you have been so busy all day dealing with what's in front of you your subconscious mind has been storing this information until you were able to handle it. How nice!

This is awesome because some of what the Monkey Brain reminds you is important, not all of it though, the Monkey Brain can't determine importance.

Here's what to do to make sure you get a good nights sleep and retain the important information. 5 or 10 minutes before going to bed, sit quietly and ask your subconscious to share everything you need to know. Then as the thoughts come up, write them on a piece of paper. Once your subconscious has downloaded everything it will be at peace and will allow you to have a good nights sleep.

Sometimes problems can keep us awake also and cause stress. If this what keeps you awake download my free problem-solving Worksheet - The 5 Choices.