How to Overcome Insomnia
Insomnia is one of the most severe consequences of anxiety and its resulting depression. Some people find it difficult to fall asleep (this type of insomnia is
usually linked to anxiety), while others wake up constantly (early morning insomnia can be related to both anxiety and depression). Typically, as treatment alleviates symptoms of anxiety and depression, insomnia also recedes, and the person rests better during sleep.
However, there is a range of cognitive-behavioral techniques aimed at working directly with insomnia. Before you begin them, you need to gather basic information about your sleep habits. This will allow you to evaluate subsequent changes.
First, let's discuss sleeping pills. Most sleep problems are related to various factors affecting your circadian rhythms—the hormonal changes that influence feelings of sleepiness and wakefulness. It is very important that these rhythms are maintained naturally. Therefore, for the cognitive-behavioral approach to be fully effective, you should try to stop taking any form of sleeping medication. Such drugs artificially alter your circadian rhythms and will interfere with the techniques described below. In fact, studies show that cognitive-behavioral therapy is
much more effective at treating insomnia than sleeping pills. (Pills usually only help for a short time.)
Important: Before discontinuing any medical prescriptions, consult your doctor.
Cognitive-Behavioral Techniques for Sleep
- Stick to a sleep schedule. Try to organize your life so that you go to bed and wake up at roughly the same time every day. This means you should go to bed and get up regardless of how tired you feel.
- Do not nap during the day. Napping feels good and seems restorative, but it disrupts your circadian rhythms. You need to train your brain to fall asleep and wake up at specific times. Therefore, avoid daytime naps.
- The bed is only for sleeping. Insomnia is often stimulated by nervous arousal that occurs right before sleep while you are lying in bed. As a result, an association is formed between going to bed and experiencing anxiety. Therefore, it is important to use the bed exclusively for sleep.
- Avoid nervous arousal for an hour before bed. Try not to argue or take on complex tasks shortly before sleep. You don't need to agitate yourself. An hour before bed, arrange some quiet time. Do something relaxing or boring.
- Use a journal to structure thoughts (3 hours before bed). Insomnia is often linked to excessive mental activity. You are-simply thinking too much before sleep. Set aside "worry and feeling time" at least three hours before you go to bed.This work with your hand—the physical act of writing—helps relieve tension and literally "unload" anxiety from your head onto the paper. Write down your worries, to-do lists, and plan your next day.Structuring thoughts in a journal is a powerful self-reflection technique. This is the very principle behind self-reflective journals like MriyaRun: they help organize the chaos in your head, reduce anxiety levels before sleep, and understand yourself better. Acknowledge that you cannot control everything, and set these thoughts aside until tomorrow.
- This work with your hand—the physical act of writing—helps relieve tension and literally "unload" anxiety from your head onto the paper. Write down your worries, to-do lists, and plan your next day.
- Structuring thoughts in a journal is a powerful self-reflection technique. This is the very principle behind self-reflective journals like MriyaRun: they help organize the chaos in your head, reduce anxiety levels before sleep, and understand yourself better. Acknowledge that you cannot control everything, and set these thoughts aside until tomorrow.
- Minimize liquids before bed. The need to empty the bladder often interferes with sleep. In the evening, avoid caffeine, heavy, fatty, or sugary foods, and alcohol.
- Get out of bed if you can't sleep. If you lie awake for more than 15 minutes, get up and go to another room. Write down your negative thoughts and rational responses to them (see below).
- Do not try to force yourself to sleep. This will only upset you and make you more anxious. It is much more helpful to stop trying to sleep; strangely enough, this works much better. You can tell yourself, "I will stop trying to sleep and just focus on relaxing my body."
- Challenge your negative thoughts. The process of falling asleep is complicated by the range of emotions that arise in your mind. These thoughts are what keep you awake. If you doubt their validity, their power over you will weaken. Here are some examples:Negative Thought: "I need to fall asleep right now, or I won't be able to do anything tomorrow."Rational Response: "There's no urgency. I've managed fine before even when I haven't slept well. I'll feel tired—it's uncomfortable and unpleasant, but it's not the end of the world."Negative Thought: "I never get enough sleep."Rational Thought: "Yes, it's inconvenient and unpleasant. But it's not a catastrophe."
- Negative Thought: "I need to fall asleep right now, or I won't be able to do anything tomorrow."
- Rational Response: "There's no urgency. I've managed fine before even when I haven't slept well. I'll feel tired—it's uncomfortable and unpleasant, but it's not the end of the world."
- Negative Thought: "I never get enough sleep."
- Rational Thought: "Yes, it's inconvenient and unpleasant. But it's not a catastrophe."
It will take some time to feel progress—possibly several weeks. Don't expect instant results.
Alternative: Sleep Restriction Therapy
There is a more drastic approach that can also be effective. It involves sleep restriction and is based on the idea that you need to retrain your brain to restore circadian rhythms.
- Stay awake for 24 hours. This first step is quite difficult.
- Initially, sleep the minimum amount for yourself. What was the minimum amount of sleep you got last week? If it was four hours, then sleep only that much, no matter how tired you are. (If you plan to wake up at 7 AM, go to bed at 3 AM).
- Gradually increase your sleep time. Add 15 minutes to your sleep time each night.
- Don't demand eight hours of sleep. Many of us do not need a full eight hours. The important thing is to get enough sleep to feel more alert.