Introducing Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (Introducing...) Read Online Free
Author: Elaine Iljon Foreman, Clair Pollard
tired. Repeat this if you cannot sleep again after 15 minutes.
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You must still get up at your set time whether or not you have slept.
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Associate your bedroom with sleep. If you usually read, work or worry in bed, this can mean that you are not relaxed when you then try to sleep. Move these activities out of the bedroom. Your bed should only be used for sleep and sex. Only read in bed if you know it relaxes you and helps you to sleep. Think about what you read. Is it likely to relax or stimulate your mind? Breaking these habits will mean that you are cueing your mind into sleeping when you go to bed.
Use relaxation techniques. Try some of the strategies suggested in Chapter 4 on managing anxiety. They also include the techniques of self-hypnosis and deep relaxation . You’ll probably find some of them are easier and more fun than you would have imagined. Remember it is usually better to learn to use these strategies during the day first, before you start to use them to help you sleep. Once you have found a strategy that works well you can use it to relax you and help prepare your body and mind for sleep.
Increase physical exercise during the day. We all sleep better when we are active and using energy during the day. Try to increase the amount of exercise you get. This does not have to involve going to the gym or taking up a sport if this is not for you. Think about your journey to work or to the shops. Can you park a bit further away from where you are going, rather than circling to find the nearest spot? Could you get off public transport a stop earlier or later than your usual one and get a bit of a walk then? A brisk 20-minute walk can be excellent exercise and may make all the difference to your sleeping pattern. Make sure though, that you get this exercise earlier in the day and not within two hours of bedtime.
Increase pleasurable and relaxing activities during the day – and night! These days many of us work too hard and do not make time for doing things we enjoy or which relax us. This can affect our mood, make us anxious and mean it’s very hard for us to sleep well. Try to build in something that you enjoy, however small, every day. Think creatively. It does not have to be something big. Spending some time with a friend, partner or child, reading for pleasure, playing a game or just walking around the garden can all help us to feel better. If our mood is better we are much more likely to sleep well. Try some of the strategies in Chapter 5 to improve your mood.
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How you spend your time during the day will have a big impact on your sleep at night.
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Step 4: manage your unhelpful thinking
Look again at the diagram at the beginning of this chapter. You can see how negative thoughts about not sleeping or general worries can lead us to feel frustrated, worried or stressed, to have increased muscle tension or to behave in less helpful ways. All of these things prevent us from sleeping well. In order to change the way we sleep, we need to alter the way we think and behave in relation to our thoughts.
Deal with low mood or anxiety. Mood disorders such as anxiety, panic or depression can cause us problems with sleep. Other chapters in this book will help you to find ways of overcoming these problems. Use our questionnaires to help you work out what the problem might be. Consistently waking very early in the morning and being unable to get back to sleep can be a symptom of depression. If you are worried that you may be severely depressed or anxious, talk to your doctor about getting some further help. Chapter 4 tells you about coping with anxiety, Chapter 6 tells you more about depression and how to deal with it, while Chapter 9 suggests additional resources which you might find helpful.
Reduce worry. We have already said that many people find that lying awake worrying prevents them getting to sleep. You can help yourself by noticing when you are falling into a spiral of worry and reminding yourself
----
You must still get up at your set time whether or not you have slept.
----
Associate your bedroom with sleep. If you usually read, work or worry in bed, this can mean that you are not relaxed when you then try to sleep. Move these activities out of the bedroom. Your bed should only be used for sleep and sex. Only read in bed if you know it relaxes you and helps you to sleep. Think about what you read. Is it likely to relax or stimulate your mind? Breaking these habits will mean that you are cueing your mind into sleeping when you go to bed.
Use relaxation techniques. Try some of the strategies suggested in Chapter 4 on managing anxiety. They also include the techniques of self-hypnosis and deep relaxation . You’ll probably find some of them are easier and more fun than you would have imagined. Remember it is usually better to learn to use these strategies during the day first, before you start to use them to help you sleep. Once you have found a strategy that works well you can use it to relax you and help prepare your body and mind for sleep.
Increase physical exercise during the day. We all sleep better when we are active and using energy during the day. Try to increase the amount of exercise you get. This does not have to involve going to the gym or taking up a sport if this is not for you. Think about your journey to work or to the shops. Can you park a bit further away from where you are going, rather than circling to find the nearest spot? Could you get off public transport a stop earlier or later than your usual one and get a bit of a walk then? A brisk 20-minute walk can be excellent exercise and may make all the difference to your sleeping pattern. Make sure though, that you get this exercise earlier in the day and not within two hours of bedtime.
Increase pleasurable and relaxing activities during the day – and night! These days many of us work too hard and do not make time for doing things we enjoy or which relax us. This can affect our mood, make us anxious and mean it’s very hard for us to sleep well. Try to build in something that you enjoy, however small, every day. Think creatively. It does not have to be something big. Spending some time with a friend, partner or child, reading for pleasure, playing a game or just walking around the garden can all help us to feel better. If our mood is better we are much more likely to sleep well. Try some of the strategies in Chapter 5 to improve your mood.
----
How you spend your time during the day will have a big impact on your sleep at night.
----
Step 4: manage your unhelpful thinking
Look again at the diagram at the beginning of this chapter. You can see how negative thoughts about not sleeping or general worries can lead us to feel frustrated, worried or stressed, to have increased muscle tension or to behave in less helpful ways. All of these things prevent us from sleeping well. In order to change the way we sleep, we need to alter the way we think and behave in relation to our thoughts.
Deal with low mood or anxiety. Mood disorders such as anxiety, panic or depression can cause us problems with sleep. Other chapters in this book will help you to find ways of overcoming these problems. Use our questionnaires to help you work out what the problem might be. Consistently waking very early in the morning and being unable to get back to sleep can be a symptom of depression. If you are worried that you may be severely depressed or anxious, talk to your doctor about getting some further help. Chapter 4 tells you about coping with anxiety, Chapter 6 tells you more about depression and how to deal with it, while Chapter 9 suggests additional resources which you might find helpful.
Reduce worry. We have already said that many people find that lying awake worrying prevents them getting to sleep. You can help yourself by noticing when you are falling into a spiral of worry and reminding yourself
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