Are you digging yourself into a hole of sleeplessness?
In my previous post about insomnia, I discussed how life events mixed with personal characteristics are frequently the initial causes of sleep disruption. In this post, I’ll discuss some possible reasons why you have continued to have problems sleeping, even long after the triggering situation or life event is over. Let’s expand on an example that I used in the last post.
An example: How the hole begins
You have a Type A personality and a high need for control. Life gives you a period of time of financial instability. You’re worried and stressed. You can’t fall asleep because you’re up at night concerned about this situation and trying to figure out a way to solve it. You wake up in the middle of the night and your mind immediately starts thinking about this problem. You lay in bed trying to stop your mind from thinking about it, but you can’t.
An hour goes by. You start worrying that if you don’t fall asleep, you’re going to be too tired tomorrow for the work meeting you have. Your heart starts to race. Now you really can’t fall asleep. Two hours have gone by. You look at the clock and see that your alarm is set to go off in 45 minutes. You usually get up and go for a jog. Today, you cancel that alarm and set a new one for the latest time you can possibly get up. You lie in bed willing yourself to fall asleep, but it doesn’t happen.
Now your alarm is going off, you’ve missed your daily exercise and you’ve got to get to work. You feel tired so you pour an extra cup of coffee. At work, you think about how poorly you slept and worry tonight is going to be worse. 5pm rolls around and all you want to do is take a nap. You head home, and collapse in bed. You try to fall asleep but it’s not happening. You’re tired, but wired.
After trying for an hour, you get up and carry on with your evening. You’re glad it’s Friday because you know you can at least sleep in tomorrow. You cancel the plans that you had to go out with your friends so that you can go to bed early. 9pm rolls around and you attempt to go to sleep. You lie awake for 2 hours. Frustration rises. You finally fall asleep but have broken, restless sleep.
You’re still worried about your money problems and now you’re worried about your sleep too. You’re relieved it’s the weekend and try to make up for lost sleep by staying in bed until 10am. You never really get any decent sleep. You wonder if now your body is screwed up. You tell yourself that tonight you will take some Tylenol PM, and if you aren’t sleeping by the end of next week, maybe your doctor will prescribe some Ambien or Lunesta.
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I just gave you a two night scenario. Imagine if this cycle continued for weeks… months… YEARS?
Making insomnia worse
This person started doing everything in their power to protect their sleep, get more sleep, and cope without sleep. These choices are completely understandable. I really do believe that we’re all going around life trying to cope in the best ways that we know how. Unfortunately the problem lies in the fact that what we’re naturally inclined to do to fix insomnia is unfortunately, the exact prescription to perpetuate or worsen insomnia.
Dang it! (I hear you saying). It’s a slippery slope into insomnia.
Your body becomes conditioned over time to be awake and to struggle with sleep. The harder you try to sleep, the harder it becomes to sleep. The worse your sleep gets, the more you beginning worrying about your sleep and your ability to sleep. You might even lose faith in your body’s ability to sleep.
This is why sleep hygiene, like sleeping in a cool dark room or just giving up caffeine, is not going to be enough to get you out of this rut. You have to put down the shovel and stop digging.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is the behavioral therapy of choice to help people regain control of their sleep and put an end to this cycle. I help people let go of the shovel and use the workable tools to free themselves from sleepless nights. Find out more about how I can help you with your sleep.
Kathryn Tipton, MA LPC, PMH-C
Kathryn Tipton has passion for sleep and wants to help you return to sleeping through the night. She uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), a non-pharmacological treatment to help clients gain control over their insomnia and improve the quality of their sleep. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a Masters degree in Clinical Psychology. Her private practice is located in central Houston, in the Montrose district. Additionally, she conducts sessions online/via phone with clients from the comfort of their own home or office.