Are You Doomed To Poor Sleep?
You were not born with insomnia and you did not suffer insomnia when you were 10 years old; it just sneaked up on you later on in life due to stress, or an illness or you cultivating sleep destroying habits. The good news is you can regain your healthy sleep pattern.
Have you had insomnia for such a long time that you now consider it as being part of who you are, have you condemned your self to sleepless nights forever?
Even after just a few nights of sleeplessness we start to wonder anxiously if we will ever sleep normally ever again. The problem is, if you are convinced you are doomed to sleeping poorly, you will sleep poorly.
When sleep is concerned, the mind is king, and the belief that you can’t sleep and are doomed to poor sleep leads to helplessness, anxiety, stress and insomnia.
You were not born with insomnia and there is no reason why you should live with it. You did not suffer insomnia when you were 10 years old; it just sneaked up on you later on in life due to stress, or an illness or you cultivating sleep destroying habits.
Insomnia is not a disease, it is simply a fact that you have momentarily lost your balance (even if that moment lasts for 15 years) and it is important for you to understand and see that it is possible for you to recover that balance and regain sound sleep without resorting to sleeping pills or a whole host of things that do not work or give temporary relief.
If you are worrying your nights away, having trouble sleeping or if you wake during the night watching the “merry go round” start all over again, the “worry habit” is high on your list of suspects. Anxiety and chronic worrying are deeply ingrained mental habits that destroy your sleep, but the good news is, mental habits can be changed. One thing you need to do to get out of the worrying habit and anxiety and shift to a mindset conducive to sleep is to:
· Let your mind slow down.
· Focus on your breathing
· Relax different parts of your body
· Imagine yourself relaxing in a warm beautiful setting like lying on the beach looking at the sea, at the clouds, at the sky and let your mind wander
· Use Insomnia Buster Track in the evenings, even if its purpose is not to put you to sleep. – you can check this out on their website – Most people including myself just use it for relaxation which I find it works extremely well, it very often sends me to sleep.
· Use the Fall Asleep Track when you are ready to go to bed and focus on the pulses. Don’t try to fall asleep, instead focus your attention on the pulses and notice how they are gradually getting slower. Allow your mind to wander and allow your body to feel progressively more and more relaxed
Keeping your attention on something as dull as the pulses will be increasingly difficult, especially since they will help your brain to downshift” and leave the realms of fast beta thought inducing brainwaves to go into a progressively calmer and calmer state of mind. This works like magic. Try it and see how soon you drift away.
- Change your beliefs about sleep – “I can’t get to sleep” becomes a fulfilling prophecy.
- Change your sleep habits
- Train your brain to fall asleep with the Fall Asleep Track (the most and effective sleep tool I have come across so far). – You can learn more on this in the Free PDF Report on Sleep. If you would like to get your hands on one email me at:
- Have an evening routine that makes a transition from daytime to night time. You need to let your brain activity subside during night time by making it a habit to unwind with things like meditation, relaxation etc.
- Take it easy and avoid strenuous activity less than 3 hours prior to bedtime.
- Avoid confrontation or task that taxes your brain, fill it with chitter chatter or causes you anxiety.
- Bore yourself to sleep by doing mundane tasks like paper work or reading a text book
- Take a warm dissolving and relaxing bath. Your body temperature will rise at first but it will ease drastically helping to send you to sleep.
- Make your bedroom cosy and harmonic (the cosier the better) and make it a room just for sleeping and making love.
- Avoid things that tell your brain to engage in activities
- Make sure you have silence external noises can disrupt your sleep
- Make your room as dark as possible in the evening (use dimmer switches if possible). Sleep mask is also an excellent idea for blocking out light.
- Cool sleeping room – your room temperature should be 65-70% F
- Use “Fall Asleep Track”(this can be found at
- Wake up at about the same time every day (your sleep clock needs a fine tune cue)
Email me at sleepandstressnurse@googlemail.com for free sleep report on Sleep& Anxiety
See you next week with my next topic on Stress and Anxiety and have a new enjoyable sleep in the future.
Mrs A Boadu
A Boadu
