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Similar to Psychiatric Help: Sleeping and Insomnia
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Psychiatric Help: Sleeping and Insomnia
- 1. PRACTICAL STRATEGIES FOR COMBATING INSOMNIA
- 2. 1. Set regular hours for going to bed and getting up in the morning, and stick to them, even on weekends. This may mean waking yourself from a sound sleep shortly after falling asleep, but it will lead to better sleep the next night.
- 3. 2. Stay out of bed if you are not asleep. Notice what time it is when you get in the bed. If you haven't fallen asleep after half an hour, get up and read or watch television. Keep these activities short, for example, read articles instead of novels, and watch short television programs rather than movies. Wait until you are very sleepy before you return to bed, again noting the time, and repeat these directions. You may find that you sleep even less initially, but it is better to risk losing a few hours of sleep than to lie in bed "tossing and turning". Don't read or watch television in bed and don't eat in bed. Aim to have your mind and body associate your bed with sleep and only with sleep. Let yourself fall asleep wherever you are. Take your alarm clock with you to alleviate worry about oversleeping.
- 4. 3. Avoid taking naps during the day or anytime outside the hours you set for sleep.
- 5. 4. Drink a glass of milk at bedtime. Milk contains L- tryptophan, a natural food substance which helps induce sleep.
- 6. 5. Eat a small, mild, high carbohydrate bedtime snack to settle your stomach.
- 7. 6. Get some exercise every day, but avoid strenuous exercise at bedtime.
- 8. 7. Do whatever you can to make your bedroom conducive to sleep. Keep the temperature cool. Ask those near you to respect your need for quiet. Some people are soothed by a low, steady noise like a fan or white noise device. Try to use your bedroom for sleeping only.
- 9. 8. If worries or thoughts of tomorrow's activities intrude into your consciousness, get out of bed and make a list of them to be dealt with during your waking hours. Or designate a "worry chair": Get up, sit in the chair, and make yourself worry for 10 or 20 minutes, then go back to bed.
- 10. 9. Count sheep. It's very difficult to let your mind go blank, so fill your thoughts with repetitive, monotonous images.
- 11. 10. Avoid caffeine containing foods and drinks such as coffee, tea, chocolate, etc.
- 12. 11. Avoid alcohol. It makes you drowsy at first, but in the long run, it's a poor sleeping "pill" which can even interfere with sleep quantity and quality.
- 13. 12. Don't try to go to sleep. Sleep is a natural process which cannot be forced. Let yourself go to sleep. Avoid keeping track of how much time you sleep or stay awake.
- 14. 13. Establish bedtime rituals to signal your mind and body to begin to relax. Try taking a warm bath or reading.
- 15. 14. You must be willing to lose some sleep at first by following these instructions, but if you stick to them, your sleep cycle will gradually improve.