As the summer looms and the days become longer, I have noticed that sleep seems to be on everyone’s minds. Even the government are wondering whether we are getting enough shut eye.
But for some people, chronic insomnia is a nightmare in itself.
It’s that ongoing cycle of getting to bed time and dreading it because you hope that you will sleep but fear that you won’t. Then lying awake, watching the small hours tick past whilst your mind zooms around relentlessly. Then comes the horrible fatigue as you are awoken by your alarm and have to contemplate how you are going to get through the day with so little rest.
People don’t sleep for all sorts of reasons and if it happens over and over again, then it can quickly become a habit.
Some people become so desperate that they visit the doctor for sleeping pills to knock them out. The problem with that is, that now, doctors are only likely to give you a prescription for a few weeks and then you are back to square one. So there is rarely any long term help from medication.
A lot of people from Brackley and the surrounding area see me for sleeping. However, what you need to realise is that you have to take action with sleep. You have to be willing and able to change your habits.
Assess your sleep hygiene. Is your bedroom somewhere that you would actually want to sleep? Is it clean, tidy and a nice environment?
Limit your caffeine intake, caffeine has a half life of six hours roughly. So even if you’re drinking it earlier in the day it could be affecting your sleep.
Write all of your worries in a diary. Late at night we have the time to sit and think. Therefore, you’ll probably feel tired in the day and wide awake at night. You can’t easily distract yourself when it’s bed time so it is important to get all of the worries down onto something.
Distract yourself. This one leads of from the last point really. At night you have less to do so there is more opportunity for you to think and worry. So now might be a really good time to buy a new book or upload a new podcast. Don’t pick anything too intense or something that will leave you up all night turning pages because you can’t put the book down! But listen or read something that will take your mind off of sleeping for a bit.
Limit screen time. When I say distract yourself, it might not be a good idea to do it with films, TV or Ipads. Light reduces Melatonin and you need that to sleep. So, if you are regularly on your laptop until the late hours it wont be surprising that you don’t get enough sleep.
Light reduces Melatonin. Melatonin is responsible for sleep. So when you are at home and you notice that it is getting dark outside, dim down the lights in the house. When you do into the bathroom late at night, try not to turn the light on. Otherwise you might wake yourself up again.
Deal with your emotional issues. Stress, anxiety, depression are linked to sleep and sleep deprivation makes stress, anxiety and depression seem worse. It goes around in a circle. So if you have underlying issues that need dealing with it’s really important to address them with me or someone else.
How can I help you?
· First, we will work together to look at your life and what is triggering the lack of sleep.
· I’ll look at your response to stress and how that impacts on your nightly routine
· Then we can look at getting your sleep habits back into shape as well as giving you some night recordings to reinforce what we will do in the sessions.
I will support and monitor your progress so that I can adapt to your needs in order to make sleepless nights a thing of the past.