Strategies For Easier Sleeping
Insomnia: How to rest easier
If you have ever had problems nodding off, you will understand the frustration this can lead to. The reality is the more you ruminate and ‘try’ to sleep the further away sleep seems to be.
Actually, insomnia is a lot more common than people realise and more so in women. In fact it is the most encountered sleep disorder. It is believed around a third of the UK population are suffering from lack of enough sleep.
About 37 million people across the country, sleep less than the recommended seven to nine hours night. A study revealed that the average UK adult sleeps for just 6 hours and 24 minutes but for many people it is under 5 hours.
Many do not report this to their GPs, so people with sleep problems often go unnoticed in the health-care system. One vital thing that MUST happen before any form of therapy is a proper medical evaluation to check there are no medical reasons for the insomnia.
The consequences of insomnia are significant, depression, impaired work performance, work- related/motor vehicle accidents, and overall poor quality of life are among the consequences.
In an ideal world there would be a highly effective sleeping pill, completely side effect free. Sadly, such a pill does not exist.
Therapy and strategies for sleep can be helpful
Part of sorting it out should involve education, looking at the simple things first.
- Is your bed comfortable or is it old and worn out? A new bed is necessary after 5 to 8 years.
- Is your bedroom the correct temperature neither too hot nor too cool?
- Ideally your bedroom should be so dark you cannot see from one side to the other.
- Black out curtains keep very early morning light at bay and be aware of lights from the street shining through inadequate curtains.
- Do you have electrical equipment with visible stand-by lights on TVs or computers, tablets or phones. Do you have a bright digital clock?
- Perhaps the most common problem I am hearing in my clinic is people taking digital devices into the bedroom, there is a real need at night to unplug yourself from technology.
Negative self-talk just isn’t helpful
Rumination can lead to hyperarousal, this is the worst part in so many ways; It leaves people feeling anxious and physically on edge. People who for whatever reason have perhaps had a few bad nights sleep begin to focus on not sleeping, they torture themselves with questions like ‘what will happen tonight, I bet I won’t sleep again’. A negative thinking pattern associated with bedtime is established, it is anything but helpful.
Can Therapy Help?
The conclusion is that evidence from research favours psychological therapies over potentially addictive medication. Therapy may not be an instant fix, yet for such a common condition talking therapies have not always been routinely offered when they could be extremely helpful, if they are offered, there are often months or even years to wait for NHS appointments.
There is much that can be done to help. Passive observation of thoughts and the fleeting nature of them is just one of the ways to help frustrated people get a grip of things and that will help them break the sleeplessness cycle. Part of the work a therapist needs to do is help individuals learn and use the tools and resources to help them break free of rumination.
If you need help to get your sleep back on track take the first step and get in touch.