Mom's illness affected all aspects of my life. My own health suffered as I struggled to keep any minor ailments from Mom. I really found sleep difficult. I would wake in the small hours with thoughts tumbling in my head as I reviewed over and over again new treatments we could try or things we could do differently. I found this technique very useful for calming my sleep disturbance. It's called purple cloaking.
Purple cloaking comes from yoga practice, meditation and the understanding of chakras. Read more on these topics here and here. But, you don't have to know anything about that to have a happy purple cloaking experience.
You can purple cloak at any time or any where. I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and imagine a bright light shining on me. Then I imagine throwing a large purple cloak over my body, feeling comforted by it. Next, I imagine the purple cloak on all those close to me. Purple cloak the people, your pets, your house, your car (if making a journey). Purple cloak those near and far. As you purple cloak, say the name of the person in your head. Don't worry if you drift off or other thoughts come into your head. Acknowledge these thoughts, they are important to deal with but not while purple cloaking, and have come to you because it is quiet. Enjoy!