When my clients come in for treatment for some of their challenges like
depression anxiety or relational problems, one of the most common
associated problems that they have is difficulty sleeping. This shows up as
either having a hard time falling asleep staying asleep or just feeling tired all
the time. Getting enough quality sleep can make your brain function much better
and you'll be better at solving problems and feel more self control. In this video
we're gonna talk about how to train your
brain to sleep well, and it's called sleep hygiene.
Hi everyone Emma McAdam here, I'm a licensed
therapist and I just wanted to remind you that I've got in-depth mental health
courses on udemy.com. Right now they're on sale for $9.99 so check out the link
in the description. Okay back to sleep hygiene. So sleep is essential for good
mental health. Lack of sleep can actually cause mental illness. Research is showing
that one of the most effective ways to treat depression is by helping people
improve the quality and the quantity of their sleep. One study of people with
depression found that after resolving their insomnia 87% of them experienced
major improvements in their depression. Their depression symptoms disappeared
after eight weeks of good sleep. So, how do we improve our ability to get sleep?
We can train our brain to sleep better. Sleep hygiene means going through a
routine that trains your brain and body to know when to sleep. So, like a muscle
that strengthens with practice, sleeping well is a skill we can develop. Okay so
because you're trying to trigger the autonomic nervous system to start your
sleep cycle it's really important to use a routine. If you've ever tried to get a
toddler to fall asleep you know how important it is to stick to a routine.
Adults aren't too different. Remember our minds like Pavlov's dogs
they learn to associate sight smells and activities with these reflexive
responses that are usually outside of our direct control. We can't force
ourselves to sleep but we can train our brain to know when to sleep. So, start by
creating a wind down routine before bedtime that the brain associates with
sleeping. To do this, you want to keep a consistent schedule whenever possible so
try to go to bed and wake up around the same time each day.
Dim the lights cool the temperature and decrease your stimulation. So for example,
do quiet activities like reading a book or taking a bath because these help
trigger calm. Don't watch TV or exercise right before bed. Another thing you can
do is have a routine for right before bed so for example in the evening you do
a snack and you change into pajamas then you brush teeth and get into bed read a
book pray and go to sleep. In addition to a routine there are some things you can
do during the day that are going to improve your ability to fall asleep, and
stay asleep. Limit your naps during the day to less than 30 minutes. Cut out
screen time before bed, so not only are devices like phones and tablets and TVs
very stimulating and this triggers the alerting system in the brain but
also the tone of the light emanated from your screen tends to have a bluish tint
to it. And this is similar to the bluish light in the mornings so again this is a
biological trigger to wake up. Research shows that blue toned lights tend to
trigger alertness and a red or yellow toned lights tend to trigger calmness. So
if you must use your phone or tablet before bed check to see if it has a
night shift setting. This will shift your screen colors toward the red and yellow
range. Next, turn your screen brightness down as low as possible
and use the night setting for reading and this makes it so your text appears
as white letters on a black background. So many programs have this option in
their settings. Also put your phone on do not disturb mode while you're sleeping
and don't check your work emails right before bed or read anything that could
be stressful like the news or even your Facebook feed. Another thing
you want to do is take a look at your caffeine use. Avoid caffeine for at least
4 to 6 hours before bedtime. Even one cup of coffee or tea even early
in the morning that can affect your sleep for up to 48 hours. So, if you're
not sure of how caffeine is impacting you,
you could try going off caffeine for one week. The first couple of days you might
feel more tired and by day four you will probably start feeling better. You'll
have better sleep you'll have better energy and be more focused and you'll
most likely be waking up less at night and you'll find it easier to fall asleep.
Within one week most people say I feel better off caffeine than on caffeine.
They report better energy better mood and better sleep. Another thing you want
to think about is limiting alcohol use. While some people believe that alcohol
helps them sleep and it might help people fall asleep, alcohol interferes
with your brain's ability to sleep well and repair itself. Especially during the
second half of the night. So that leaves you feeling more exhausted later. Another
thing to think about is to avoid rich heavy or fatty foods before bedtime.
Anything that might cause heartburn or indigestion can interfere with sleep. But
so can hunger. So you could try a snack like a banana and peanut butter before
bed. A warm glass of milk before bed has also been shown in clinical studies to
be as effective as many sleep medications. But a lot of people just
don't like the idea of drinking warm milk, you may want to try it.
Exercise during the day can also greatly improve your ability to sleep so even 10
minutes of exercise can make a difference. Also, light and sound can
trigger alertness. So use earplugs blackout curtains or eye masks to help
cut out that extra stimuli. Another thing you can try is a relaxation routine or
meditation before bed, this is something like progressive muscle relaxation you
could check out the video I made on that or you could listen to a guided imagery
exercise. And again, as you're trying to create associations for your brain
to trigger that sleep response, you want to only use your bed for sleeping and
sex. If your brain associates your bed with watching TV or working on your
laptop eating paying bills and etc, your brain is gonna associate your bed with
alertness not sleep. If you're having a very hard time falling asleep or falling
back asleep try getting up get out of bed and do something really boring like
listening to a boring audio book, or the old documentary. Don't do anything too
stimulating. When I'm having a hard time sleeping I like to listen to this show
called Time Team where a bunch of British archaeologists try and dig to
find you know history. But it's a pretty slow show and it helps me fall asleep.
Okay I hope you found these tips helpful and if you liked this video check out my
other video called insomnia antidote, where I teach one way to turn off worry
and fall asleep. Thanks for watching and take care.