Trouble Sleeping? Try These Tips from a Therapist
Insomnia is a common and chronic issue for many, read more to learn about the concept of “sleep hygiene” and ways to get a better night’s sleep.
We’ve all been there. Lying awake at night, looking at your clock and doing sleep math. “Ok if I fall asleep now I can still get 5 hours”
Insomnia is a condition that most people will experience in their lifetime, however for some it is chronic and can have serious detrimental health issues. Sleep is the foundation for our lives and a lack of sleep can impact mood, metabolism, appetite, focus and of course, energy.
A lot of people often self-medicate at night to help with sleep, and while this may provide temporary relief, in the long-term it can cause dependence on substances to help with falling and staying asleep. I recommend common sleep hygiene tools and tuning into your overall health and wellness routine to improve your sleep.
Read my tips for a better night’s sleep.
1. Fix Your Environment
Sleep hygiene is a term for practices that help promote good, restful sleep. Practicing good sleep hygiene means being intentional about your routine and habits that interact with your sleep, starting with your environment.
Some of the most common tips for sleep hygiene I recommend are:
· Keep your bedroom cool at night
· Use a sound machine or earplugs to block out unwanted noise
· Use a sleep mask to block out light
· Don’t watch TV, look at your phone, or do work in bed.
· Wear comfortable, loose-fitting PJs
· Don’t sleep with your pets if they wake you up (controversial I know, but if you really struggle with sleep, it may be worth considering)
· When you wake up – get out of bed! Do not lounge in bed or hit “snooze”.
2. Build a Consistent Routine
Our bodies have a natural circadian rhythm, this is why you wake up 1 minute before your alarm or why you may wake up early even after falling asleep later than usual on the weekends. With a consistent routine, our bodies naturally regulate hormones that make us feel tired or awake on a 24-hour cycle.
It is recommended to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. (Yes, this includes weekends). Having a solid routine for your sleep/wake cycle will over time improve your sleep quality.
Routine may not be feasible for everyone, for example nurses who work nightshifts or nursing mothers. Even if routine is not always feasible, do your best to build consistency and use other sleep hygiene tools available to you.
How To: Hack Your Circadian Rhythm
If you have trouble falling asleep, train your body to get tired sooner by waking up earlier. Be consistent, get up at the same time daily even if you fell asleep later than you’d like. This is a temporary sleep deprivation technique to help you get sleepier, earlier. Remember to limit caffeine and other stimulants after 3pm as they may interfere with your ability to fall asleep.
If you find that you often wake up too early (3 – 4 am) and can’t fall back asleep, you may be going to bed too early. Try getting sunlight in the late afternoon to regulate your sleep- wake cycles and push your bedtime back little by little.
3. Re-structure Negative Thoughts
Many people can’t fall asleep at night because of anxiety or “racing thoughts”, either right before falling asleep or once they’ve waken up in the middle of the night. If this sounds like you, you may benefit from a treatment called CBT-I or CBT for insomnia. Recently featured in an article in the New York Times, CBT-I is an effective treatment method to help re-structure negative thoughts that occur during or about nighttime and sleep. You can work with a therapist to build CBT skills or use a workbook like The Insomnia Workbook by Stephanie Silberman.
CBT-I works to re-structure negative thoughts around sleep. As most people with chronic insomnia start to feel anxious at night. “What if I can’t fall asleep again?” may come to mind. CBT-I will teach you the skills to stop these thoughts, or re-structure them to more positive or neutral thoughts when they come up.
A wind-down routine may also help with nighttime anxiety, as it is signaling to your body and mind that it is safe to relax.
How To: Build a “Wind Down” Routine
Nancy has a hard time falling asleep at night. She often works until 7pm, makes dinner, then watches TV until 11pm. She’ll then get in bed and check her emails one last time, and may indulge a bit of scrolling on Instagram before trying to fall asleep around 12. Nancy often ends up not being able to fall asleep for 1 -2 hours and often stays up thinking about what she has to do the next day, or begins to worry about getting in trouble at her job.
Here is the wind down routine I’d recommend for Nancy:
Give yourself a hard stop to stop checking your emails at a certain hour, and after that time put your phone on Do Not Disturb to limit being pulled back in to work.
Watching TV in the evenings is perfectly fine - but ideally you want to step away from screens an hour before your ideal fall-asleep time. For Nancy, this is about 11pm, so I’d recommend turning the TV off and putting the phone away for the night around then.
Around 11pm, I recommend starting a calming wind-down routine like drinking a warm nighttime tea, taking a bath, gentle stretching, listening to calming music, a relaxing skincare routine, meditation or reading to close the chapter of each day, then get into bed with the intention of sleeping, not scrolling.
If you can’t fall asleep in an hour, get up and try doing something boring like reading a magazine on the couch until you feel sleepy enough to head back to bed. Ideally, you should be using your bed for sleep and intimacy only. This means no scrolling, working or TV in bed!
4. Speak With Your Doctor
Sometimes insomnia can be a sign of a medical condition like sleep apnea or menopause. Speak with your doctor if insomnia continues to be a persistent problem, especially if you are already practicing proper sleep hygiene. Your doctor may prescribe medication for sleep or recommend participating in a sleep study to learn more about the issue. Discuss your options with your PCP or a psychiatrist.
There is so much more to be said about sleep and sleep hygiene, it’s hard to fit it all into one small blog post. If you suffer from insomnia, know that you are not alone, and there are many resources available to you. If you’re interested in starting therapy for chronic insomnia, click here to learn more about working together.
Sources:
NYT Article: “Can’t Sleep? Try This Proven Alternative to Medication.”