妈妈睡不着

It's a new word.

This word —

I only heard it recently myself.

First, a little story.

I have a friend.

Her name is Xiaohong.

Xiaohong is eight years old.

She lives with her mom.

Recently,

Xiaohong has been a little worried.

She's worried about her mom.

Why?

Let me tell you.

Mom is busy every day.

Gets up very early.

Goes to bed very late.

But here's a strange thing.

Mom says she's tired.

Very tired.

But she can't fall asleep.

Xiaohong thought:

when you're tired, you should fall asleep.

Why can't Mom fall asleep?

Mom also said:

I don't know why.

I lie in bed,

and there are so many things in my head.

None of them turn off.

Xiaohong asked her dad:

"Dad, what's wrong with Mom?"

Dad said:

"Mom is too tired."

"But we also don't know what to do."

Later, one day,

Mom went to see a doctor.

The doctor was a woman doctor.

Her name is Romie.

Romie is American.

Romie has seen many patients.

She's also studied for many years.

She doesn't only look at the body.

She also looks at the brain.

How the brain thinks —

she understands that too.

Romie examined Mom.

Then she said:

"Let me tell you a new word."

"The word is 'busy brain.'"

What is "busy brain"?

Let me explain.

"Busy" means having many things.

"Brain" is what's inside your head.

It's where we think.

"Busy brain" means:

your brain is too busy.

It won't turn off.

Romie the doctor said:

people with "busy brain"

have three things in common.

First,

they can't focus on what they're doing.

You're doing one thing.

But your brain is thinking about something else.

Second,

their hearts are always worried.

Worried about today.

Worried about tomorrow.

Worried about many things.

Third,

they don't sleep well at night.

Lying in bed,

they're still thinking.

Romie said:

look,

Mom,

you have all three.

A little bit.

Not a lot.

But put together,

this is "busy brain."

Mom said:

"Oh, so that's what it is."

"I never knew."

Romie said:

"Many people have it."

"Especially people who work a lot."

"Especially adults."

"In the US,"

"many people have it."

"In China,"

"a lot of people too."

"In Japan too."

"It's everywhere in the world."

"You're not alone."

Romie said:

"I have a method."

"Eight weeks."

"I'll teach you."

For the first two weeks:

no coffee at night.

Don't eat too much sugar.

Don't look at your phone before bed.

For weeks three and four:

sleep early, wake early.

Sleep at about the same time each day.

Wake at about the same time each day.

For weeks five and six:

eat a little better.

More vegetables.

More water.

Less sugar.

For weeks seven and eight:

slow down a little each day.

Take deep breaths.

Don't say yes to everything.

Romie said:

take it slowly.

Don't rush.

Change one thing at a time.

Don't change everything in one day.

That's too hard.

Nobody can do it.

She said:

people should love themselves first.

Not love others first.

Love yourself first.

If you're well,

then others will be well too.

Same for your mom.

She has to sleep well first.

Then she can take care of you.

Mom listened.

She thought for a moment.

Then she said:

"OK."

"I'll try."

"I also want to sleep well."

"I also want energy during the day."

Later,

Mom really did start to change.

She stopped drinking coffee at night.

She stopped looking at her phone before bed.

She slept a little earlier.

She woke up a little earlier.

A month later,

Mom said:

"I feel like I'm sleeping a bit better."

"My head is clearer during the day too."

Xiaohong was very happy.

She said:

"Mom, look,"

"the doctor's words really work."

Mom also laughed.

She said:

"Yes."

"I didn't know before."

"Turns out this has a name."

"Turns out there's a way to fix it."

OK.

Today's story ends here.

We learned:

there's a new word called "busy brain."

It means: your brain is too busy and won't turn off.

Lots of grown-ups have it.

Can't focus,

heart worried,

can't sleep at night.

A little of each of the three.

A doctor named Romie discovered this.

She teaches everyone an eight-week plan.

Change slowly.

Get better slowly.

Finally,

I want to say one thing.

If you see your mom tired,

or your dad tired,

please help them too.

Tell them:

"Slow down a little."

"Take a rest."

When Mom is tired,

we should love her even more.

When Dad is tired,

the same thing.

OK.

Today's story ends here.

Tomorrow we'll talk about other interesting things.

Tonight, you should sleep well too.

Good night.