So you're moving along nicely in your self treatment for insomnia program. You have so far...
- Started a sleep diary and every morning you are recording the details of how your night went
- (or day if you are a day sleeper).
- Created a sleep schedule that works for you, along with limiting your time in bed if necessary.
- Created a pre-sleep routine that helps you relax (you'll learn more about relaxation techniques in Day 4)
- Read about cognitive behavioral therapy techniques, for insomnia specifically, and have started writing down some of your thoughts about sleep and evaluating them with a different perspective.
- Begun a new habit of "postponing" your thinking, worrying, problem solving and other mental activity, and moving it to daytime (or wake time) hours by setting appointments with yourself.
- Started a "worry journal" and are writing in it at predetermined times of the day as the follow-through activities from step 3 above.
- Read the article on sleep anxiety so you understand exactly why you need to take the pressure off yourself to sleep. You are content to stay awake until your new habits kick in and your self treatment for insomnia is complete.
If you have done all the above, excellent work! And if you haven't, I suggest you go back to Day 1 and Day 2 and then come back here when you've completed the steps.
Sleep Hygiene Checklist
Now we'll talk more about the sleep hygiene part of your self treatment for insomnia. And by that I mean, we'll discuss some common sense things you can do to help you sleep better. Most of what I'm about to discuss is already contained in several insomnia articles on this site, so you review these whenever you want.
This Day 3 of the Insomnia Self-Help Tutorial will be mostly a checklist so you can track your progress in integrate these helpful changes into your self treatment for insomnia.
Putting exercise into your self-treatment program:
If you don't already exercise at least 15 minutes a day, now is the time to start. It can be...
- A 20-45 minute brisk walk in the morning, afternoon or early evening
- A light-to-moderate workout at the gym or fitness center or class (but no more than 30-60 minutes) in the morning or afternoon (avoid heavy weights and strenuous muscle building)
- 15-30 minutes of jogging, dancing, or using a treadmill, mini-trampoline or walking uphill, again in morning, afternoon or early evening hours.
I think you get the idea here. You can refer to the article on exercise and insomnia for more details. Just remember to use the three keys: moderation, consistency and proper timing (no less than five hours before bedtime if possible).
Using dietary common sense in your self treatment for insomnia:
You don't have to completely change your diet, unless of course you want to or if you are living on energy drinks, fast food and chocolate bars. Then you do need to make some serious changes to a more sleep-friendly diet.
- Start with eliminating caffeine from your day after lunch. You can still have your morning coffee if you must, but no more after 1:00. If this sounds too much like breaking an addiction and you're worried about headaches and other withdrawal symptoms, just take it more slowly. Start reducing your caffeine today and after seven days or so, you can be caffeine-free.
- Next to cross off on your list is food high in sugar and high-glycemic carbs like white flour. You don't need those spikes and drops in blood sugar when you're trying to stabilize your mind and body to sleep better.
- Remember your goal is stabilization and consistency at this point in your self treatment for insomnia.
- Next, avoid high-protein and high fat foods before bed. It's best to avoid eating for about four hours before bed if possible. If that's not possible, make your last meal a light and healthy one.
You can learn more about diet and insomnia in this article. Let's get on to the comfort part of the self treatment for insomnia program.
Here is your checklist for establishing a more comfortable bedtime and sleep experience:
- Adjust temperature to a comfortably cool level. Most experts recommend the range of 65 to 70 degrees as good sleeping temperature for winter. You can go cooler if you have plenty of warm blankets or if you're a warm-blooded type. Summer temps can be warmer because contrast with outdoor heat will make it comfortable.
- Adjust your light so you get plenty of darkness during sleep time and plenty of light during wake-up time. For darkening a room, try thick drapes, shades or at least an eye mask. Even a lightweight cloth over your eyes can help.
- For light, try a light alarm clock. For avoiding bright lights during sleep time, use a flashlight, a nightlight in the bathroom, or a low-wattage bedside lamp.
- Avoid internet usage and TV watching starting today!
- Buy earplugs or a white noise machine if noise is a problem.
- Assess your mattress quality. For a quick improvement, get a mattress topper if necessary. Put a rigid board underneath the mattress if you need more firmness.
- How is your air quality? If you suffer from allergies, consider the advantages of having a high-quality air purifier in your room to rid the area of airborne allergens such as dust, dust mites, pollen, smoke, pet dander, and so on.
- And what about humidity? If you know you are bothered by this, consider a humidifier for very dry climates or a dehumidifier for moist air. Your health and possible relief of environmental causes of insomnia is worth the cost, isn't it?
- All right, now let's take a truthful look at what might be a difficult issue to face: your bed partner. If your partner is human, you can use verbal communication to discuss any problem you might be having with such things as snoring, bed movement, turning on the lights, different sleep schedules, carrying on conversations at the wrong time, and so on.
Remember, all communication can be good-humored and all modifications (such as sleeping in different beds or rooms) that you find necessary do not have to be permanent. Once your insomnia is gone, and you have applied the mental and behavioral principles of self treatment for insomnia, you could very well be able to sleep through things that used to keep you up at night.
- As for the non-human bed partners, those that sleep on your chest, pounce on your face, wake you up by scratching themselves, meowing, howling at the moon and whatnot... well, it might hurt you more than it hurts them, but get those critters out of your room, at least until you're sleeping better.
If everything is OK in the outside comfort department, now it's time to take a look at some inner comfort areas.
And we'll do that in Day 4 of your self treatment for insomnia program.