Struggling with insomnia can be incredibly frustrating and exhausting. Whether you find yourself lying awake at night unable to fall asleep or waking up too early and unable to drift back off, the effects of poor sleep can impact every aspect of your life. Insomnia often goes hand in hand with anxiety and depression, creating a vicious cycle of stress and sleeplessness. However, there is hope. By understanding the underlying causes of your insomnia and implementing effective strategies, you can improve your sleep and overall well-being. In this blog post, we will explore practical tips and cognitive-behavioural techniques to help you overcome insomnia and enjoy restful nights again. Let's embark on this journey to better sleep together.
Information about Insomnia
One of the most challenging effects of anxiety and depression is insomnia. Some people have trouble falling asleep ("onset insomnia," often linked to anxiety), while others wake up too early ("early-morning insomnia," linked to both anxiety and depression). When anxiety and depression improve with treatment, insomnia often gets better too, and sleep becomes more restful. However, there are several cognitive-behavioral techniques that can help you tackle insomnia directly. Before you start, you should track your sleep patterns to have a baseline for comparison.
One thing to consider right away is sleep medication. Generally, sleep problems are related to how different factors affect your "circadian rhythms." These are the daily hormonal changes that determine when you feel sleepy and when you feel awake. It is important to let these natural rhythms take over. So, for the cognitive-behavioral methods to work best, you might need to stop taking sleeping pills. Sleeping pills change your circadian rhythms artificially and can interfere with these techniques. Research shows that cognitive-behavioral therapy is much more effective than sleeping pills for treating insomnia (pills usually only help in the short term). Before changing any medication, talk to your doctor.
It might take some time to notice improvements—maybe weeks. Since your sleep problems took a long time to develop, it may also take a while to fix them. Do not expect immediate results!
How to Overcome Your Insomnia
Keep a Regular Sleep Schedule: Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even if you're not tired.
Avoid Naps: Napping might feel good, but it can mess up your sleep schedule. Train your brain to sleep and wake up at consistent times by skipping naps.
Use Your Bed Only for Sleep (and Sex): Doing other activities in bed, like reading or watching TV, can make you more awake and anxious. Reserve your bed just for sleep and sex to help your mind associate it with rest.
Relax Before Bed: Avoid arguments or tough tasks before bed. Spend the hour before bedtime doing something calming or boring. Avoid exercise before bed.
Manage Worries Earlier: Most insomnia is caused by too much thinking at bedtime. Set aside time to worry and make to-do lists at least 3 hours before bed. Write down your worries, plan what you need to do, and accept that not everything will be perfect. If you start worrying in bed, get up, write down your worry, and deal with it in the morning.
Express Your Emotions: Sometimes, insomnia is caused by holding onto emotions. Set aside time a few hours before bed to write about how you are feeling. For example, “I felt anxious when Bill said that” or “I was down after lunch with Joan.” Acknowledge your feelings and understand that it’s okay to feel this way. Do this 3 hours before bedtime and then set these feelings aside.
Limit Evening Food and Drink: To avoid sleep disruptions, cut back on liquids and certain foods in the evening. Avoid alcohol, caffeine, heavy foods, fats, and sugary snacks. If needed, consult a nutritionist to help you plan meals that support good sleep.
Get Up If You Can't Sleep: If you are lying awake for more than 15 minutes, get out of bed and go to another room. Write down any negative thoughts you have and challenge them. For example, thoughts like “I’ll never sleep” or “I need to fall asleep immediately” can be lessened by reminding yourself that feeling tired or irritable is uncomfortable but not catastrophic.
Don’t Force Sleep: Trying too hard to fall asleep can make things worse. Instead, try to relax and let go of the pressure to sleep. Focus on relaxing your body and mind. Sometimes, letting go of the struggle helps you sleep better.
Repeat Anxious Thoughts: To make anxious thoughts less scary, repeat them slowly and silently in your mind over and over. Imagine you are just observing these thoughts without reacting to them. This can make them seem less intense.
Avoid Safety Behaviors: If you have anxiety about sleep, you might be doing things like checking the clock or trying to stay perfectly still. Recognize these behaviours and stop doing them. For example, turn the clock away from your bed and let whatever thoughts come to mind be there without trying to control them.
Challenge Negative Thoughts: Negative thoughts about sleep can make it harder to fall asleep. Question these thoughts to reduce their impact. For instance, if you think “I’ll never get to sleep,” ask yourself if this is really true and remind yourself that it is okay to have some sleepless nights. Here are some typical negative thoughts of people with insomnia, together with what a reasonable response to each one might look like:
Negative thought: “I’ve got to fall asleep right now, or I won’t be able to function tomorrow.”
Rational response: “Actually, there’s no urgency. You’ve done without sleep before. You’ll be a little tired, which is uncomfortable and inconvenient, but hardly the end of the world.”
Negative thought: “It isn’t normal to have this kind of insomnia. It means there’s something wrong with me.”
Rational response: “Unfortunately, insomnia is quite common. Almost everyone experiences it sometimes. No one will think less of you for having it.”
Negative thought: “I could will myself to go to sleep if I tried hard enough.”
Rational response: “Trying to force yourself to sleep never works. It increases anxiety, which only fuels your insomnia. It’s better to let go of the attempt, and give in to not sleeping. Then you can relax a little.”
Negative thought: “I need to remember all the things I’m lying awake thinking about.”
Rational response: “If something is worth remembering, get out of bed, write it down, and go back to bed. There’s plenty of opportunity to plan things tomorrow.”
Negative thought: “I never get enough sleep.”
Rational response: “This is probably true for most people, but it’s simply uncomfortable and inconvenient. It’s not the end of the world.”
Sleep Restriction Therapy
A more intense treatment for insomnia is called "sleep restriction therapy." This method helps retrain your brain to follow a regular sleep schedule. It can be more challenging than other methods, but it can be very effective. The therapy may involve using special bright lights to create a consistent pattern of light and darkness. These lights can be from sunlight (managed with shades or blinds), high-intensity lamps, or special bright light devices designed for this purpose.
The steps involved in sleep restriction therapy are as follows:
Go without sleep for 24 hours. This is quite a difficult first step, and many people will feel quite exhausted from it. But it may help you reestablish your circadian rhythms. If you cannot bring yourself to go without sleep for 24 hours, then you can start with the second step.
Start with your minimum sleep time. Look at your baseline information. What’s the minimum amount of sleep you’ve had over the preceding week? If it’s 4 hours, plan to begin by sleeping only 4 hours, no matter how tired you are. If you plan to get up at 7 A.M., then go to bed at 3 A.M.
Increase sleep time gradually. Add 15 minutes per night to your sleep. Go to bed 15 minutes earlier each night. For example, if you went to bed at 3 A.M., then go to bed at 2:45 A.M. the next night and 2:30 A.M. the night after.
Don’t demand 8 hours. Many of us don’t really need a full 8 hours of sleep. See if you’re developing less fatigue and more alertness during the day before levelling off.
Even though sleep restriction therapy can seem tough, it can be very effective. Once you finish this therapy, you can use the 12 steps mentioned earlier to maintain healthy sleep habits. It is normal to have an occasional sleepless night, but sticking to good sleep habits is important. Better sleep can make a big difference in reducing anxiety and depression.
Conclusion
In conclusion, overcoming insomnia requires a combination of consistent sleep habits, managing emotions, and possibly trying sleep restriction therapy. While it may take time and effort, implementing these strategies can lead to better sleep and a significant improvement in your overall well-being. Remember, persistence and patience are key. With the right approach, restful nights are within reach.
References:
Leahy, R. L., & Holland, S. J. (2000). Treatment plans and interventions for depression and anxiety disorders (pp. 99-101). New York: The Guilford Press.
Comments