By: Douglas Meron
Sleep Hygiene is about putting yourself in the best position to sleep well each and every night. There is a direct link between mental health challenges and sleep. Studies have shown that mental illness and sleep disruption share common and overlapping patterns in the brain. In one study, people with schizophrenia displayed less paranoia after getting sufficient sleep. Getting proper sleep means sleeping, on average, 7 to 8 hours a night, depending on age. Sleeping well is vital for mental health, especially for those with overactive brain activity.
The following are some tips for sleeping well:
● Take your psychiatric medication at the same time every night and go to bed at the same time each night, even on weekends.
● Refrain from taking naps. If you must nap, do it before 3 PM and only for a maximum of an hour.
● Avoid emotionally triggering talks or situations before you try to go to bed.
● Don’t drink any caffeinated drinks after 3 PM.
● Be mindful of going to sleep too full or hungry.
● Use your bed only for sleep. It is helpful to wake up, make your bed, and don’t return to bed until it is time to go to sleep. Although it is tempting to lay in bed during the day, fight off this urge.
● It is essential for smokers not to smoke at least 2 hours before bedtime.
● Exercise aids sleep; however, try to avoid strenuously exercising within six hours of your bedtime.
● We live in Southern California, where the sun shines almost every day, so go outside and get some natural sunlight during the day to improve sleep at night
● Your alarm clock isn’t your friend. Put your alarm clock in a position where you can not see it because you may get stressed out by checking the time while you are trying to get to sleep.
● If you cannot sleep after 15 minutes, get out of bed and try to journal or read. Lying in bed while you are awake is a bad habit.
Hopefully, these tips may make sense to you. You may wonder, what do I do when I am in bed and experiencing racing thoughts? To combat racing thoughts, one can use several relaxation techniques. A warm shower or bath an hour and a half before bedtime will relax your body and mind. The warm water will raise your body temperature. Then the drop in body temperature after you get out will make you sleepy. Soft, soothing music is an excellent resource. Your racing thoughts may amp you up by listening to some emotionally charged loud music, which may further deter sleep. Use your DBT opposite action skills, and choose the opposite of what your emotions want you to do. Listen to some soft classical or jazz music to calm you down. Use deep breathing (inhale for 3 seconds, hold for 3 seconds, and exhale for 3 seconds) to chill out the body’s nervous system. After breathing deeply, use your mind’s eye to picture a relaxing image, such as being at the beach or going for a hike in a beautiful natural setting.
If you don’t get proper sleep one night, don’t mentally beat yourself up over it the next day, this will make it more difficult to sleep the next night. You may think, “Oh, I’ll never be able to fall asleep.” This thought can be scary and upsetting. When you have an idea like this, re-frame it and say, “I will get to sleep. I’ve been successful in the past, and tonight I will sleep.” If you still have trouble sleeping, listen to a soothing guided meditation on falling asleep that can be found on Insight Timer or Calm apps. One guided meditation that has helped people is imagining themselves at a beach, looking up at the sky, and “seeing” a plane go by carrying the message to “relax.” Now you have the tools to get sufficient sleep, it is time to put them into practice.
Consistent sleep will help immensely with your mental and physical well-being.