How to sleep better if you suffer from insomnia
How to sleep better is a problem. Or rather, a question to which we must (absolutely) find a solution. Bad rest is a "theme" that has plagued many people for centuries. Because of the stress, anxiety and performance-related fears, insomnia haunted anyone from Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe, who had complained the day before she died that she was unable to sleep, ad Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill, who is known to sleep just four hours a night (although he was also well known for his afternoon naps). Bill Clinton meanwhile he could not sleep more than five hours a night during his presidency, and in this regard he commented: "All the big mistakes I made in my life I made them because I was too tired ".
Having fun the whole world (Monroe's problems seemed to have started with the actor's panic) and being at the helm of a country during a war place themselves quite high in the stress barometer, but any increase in anxiety and stress can cause it insomnia. Short-term factors may include exams or brooding over things said and unsaid during a discussion. Among the long-term ones there can instead be prolonged difficult periods at work or out of work, managing a newborn, concern for the health of a loved one or the current anxiety-provoking situation during global pandemic.
Staying in bed is the first thing we do when we have to try what causes us stress. "We live incredibly active lives and there are many things that irritate us, that cause us anger or anxiety - there are decisions to be made - and since we are always so busy, it is rare to be able to stop and reflect on these things," he says South African psychiatrist Hugh Selsick, founder and director of one of the most renowned specialized insomnia centers in London. "When we think we are doing nothing, we are generally watching TV, the phone, checking emails and so on, so for most of us the first moment we really do nothing and have no distractions is when let's go to bed and turn off the light. It is not surprising that all the thoughts, emotions and decisions that have accumulated during the day pour into our brain en masse. "
Just like the build up of anxiety and stress prevents us from sleeping, sleep little prevents us from adequately addressing anxiety and stress the next day - triggering a vicious circle that we know all too well. So how does our brain cope with stress after a troubled night?
" Lack of sleep deactivates the prefrontal cortex - the front of the frontal lobe of the brain which functions as a sort of general manager of the brain and takes care of taking complex decisions - or at least weakens it significantly, "he says Matthew Walker, author of the bestseller Why do we sleep. "The emotional centers of the brain do not control emotions i and increase responsiveness because the prefrontal cortex acts as the brake pedal compared to the pedal of the emotional accelerator and anxiety." Hence feeling overwhelmed, emotional and unable to cope with stress when sleeping badly.
Fortunately there is something we can do here 6 tips to answer the question "how to sleep well?".
1. Don't go mad
"If you ask those who sleep well how they do, they generally say 'I don't know, I just fall asleep'," says Selsick. "Who sleeps well does not try to sleep, the sleep it is, simply. Those who suffer from insomnia spend a lot of time and energy trying to fall asleep, and this keeps sleep even further. " Selsick quotes the Austrian psychiatrist and neurologist Viktor Frankl, who wrote: "Sleep [è come] a dove that lands next to the hand and stays there until you pay attention to it; if you try to grab it, fly away immediately. "
Strange to say, trying to stay awake can be a more effective strategy for insomniacs. Selsick's cognitive-behavioral program plans to get out of bed if after a quarter of an hour you still feel agitated and go sit on a comfortable chair in another room (sit, don't lie down) to read or listen to something a little boring until you feel sleepy, so say go back to bed. If within a quarter of an hour you have not yet fallen asleep, get up. It is annoying but effective.
2. Wake up every day at the same time, including weekends
Recovering lost sleep by staying in bed in the long run will not help. Selsick gives the example of a sleep tank, so the longer you stay awake during the day, the more the tank fills up and when you go to bed it is so full that you fall asleep quickly. "Then if I wake up at 7, I fill the tank and have a high enough sleep charge to fall asleep at 11 in the evening. But if I wake up at 10 the next day, the tank won't be full before 2 am. This creates a lot of sleep unpredictable and fragmented. "
Selsick continues: "The main regulator of our biological clock is the light we are exposed to when we wake up, so if this happens every day at different times, the body can no longer orient itself over time. On the contrary, if you get up and expose yourself to the light at the same time every day, this helps to regulate the biological clock. In practice, sleeping late at the weekend, exposing yourself to light at a different time, has the same effect as jet-lag ". Many are convinced that they sleep badly on Sunday for work anxiety but in reality it is likely that it is only because they slept longer than usual the previous night.
3. Process thoughts before going to bed
"THE diaries of worries they seem to really help, "says Walker. "A study was conducted a few years ago, in which after measuring the speed with which a group of people fell asleep, they were invited to keep a 'diary' in which to write down all their concerns. It turned out that for some of the individuals that ritual of transferring thoughts to paper helped to fall asleep in almost half the normal time ".
Selsick recommends writing the diary an hour or two before going to bed: "Let those thoughts have free access to your mind, think about how you feel, make decisions, make plans and finish everything before going to bed." In his treatment program with cognitive behavioral therapy, patients are invited to hold a 'Worry TreeComposed of three columns: the column ' Well'With what went well that day, the column' Bad'With what did not go well and that worries us and finally the column of possible things to do with reference to the 'Bad' column. For example, if you are concerned about delivering a business presentation, in the third column you can write 'spend an hour practicing the presentation' or if you have been apprehensive about the health of a loved one for some time, you can write 'call dad tomorrow to have a chat. ' You can't solve the world's problems before going to bed, but you can do it a personalized plan to solve yours ...
4. The effect hot bath - Lower your body temperature
"It will always be easier to fall asleep in a room that is too cold than in a room that is too hot," says Walker. "Your brain and your body need lower your temperature by about one degree celsius during the night to fall asleep easily and stay asleep". So open the window a little, invest in the air conditioning or a fan. Take a hot bath before going to bed it is a known device, but not because it is pleasant and relaxing, as many believe. The hot bath basically cools the body, preparing it for sleep, as Walker explains: "What happens during a hot bath is that blood rises to the surface of the skin, away from the center of the body, and when you exit the tank, the internal temperature plummets ".
5. Once in bed try the visualization
"Verbal thinking before the onset of sleep delays sleep itself," says Selsick. "Visualization can attenuate the verbal aspect of thinking." Just imagine taking a long walk in a wonderful place (a place where you've already been). Pay close attention to senses - what does the air smell like? Do you hear the birds or the sound of your footsteps making the leaves creak? Imagine approaching a tree and placing your hand on the bark, feel its structure and calmness. Continue.
"Sleep isn't like a light switch, and we shouldn't think it is," concludes Walker. "It's more like doing land a plane, it takes some time for the brain to land on the mainland of good sleep. " The psychiatrist recommends a program meditation over the course of a few weeks to relax the anxious or stressed mind so when you go to bed you generally feel calmer.