Your
thoughts may often interfere with your sleep by protracting you into so-called
“cycle of worry” and as a result stop you from falling asleep and resting
properly.
CYCLE OF WORRY
THOUGHT:
Negative Thought Leads to….
FEELING: Worry: Body and Mind are “ACTIVATED”
BEHAVIOUR: Scanning body, environment, and thoughts
THOUGHT… And the cycle continues.
When
Body and Mind are activated senses “zoom-in” and so often detect small,
unrelated things as threats.
How to break a
Cycle of Worry
Imagine,
you wake up at 3 am and you think “I won’t be able to function tomorrow”.
You need to
challenge that thought!!!
·
What is the evidence that
supports this idea?
·
What is the evidence
against this idea?
·
Is there an alternative
explanation?
·
What is the worst that
could happen?
·
Could I live through it?
·
What is the best that could
happen?
·
What is the most realistic
outcome?
·
What would I tell______(a
friend) if he she were in the same situation?
·
How would someone else
interpret the same situation?
What
alternative thought could you have?
Situation
|
Automatic
Thoughts
|
Feelings
|
Alternative
Thoughts
|
Feelings
|
Awake
in bed in the middle of the night
|
“I
won’t be able to function tomorrow”.
|
Anxious
80%
|
“I
did not sleep so well one night last week but I could still function. I may
not be sleeping, but I am resting”.
|
Anxious
25%
|
By
finding and Alternative Thought, Worry and Anxious feelings are reduced and the
cycle is weakened or broken so sleep will come more easily.
Other ways to
stop a “Racing Mind”
·
Allow thoughts to come and
go e.g. train passing through a station (pink bunny exercise)
·
Concentration on something
pleasurable and/or boring e.g. counting sheep
·
Think of something that
will take your attention
3 BIG FACTORS
that make it difficult to judge how much sleep you’ve had:
1. “Sleep Inertia”- 3-20 minutes after waking we’re still
“half-asleep”, dazed, “out-of-it”
2. “Sleep Onset” is a bit of mystery time! Even with hi-tech
machines, we can’t know exactly when sleep starts.
3. “Worry” – research shows that when we worry – and our mind races
– time seems to pass more quickly. So 30 minutes trying to get to sleep may
seem like and hour!
Thinking about
your sleep problem
Research
has found that almost everyone
·
Underestimates how much
sleep they get
·
Overestimates the time it
takes them to go to sleep
Your beliefs
and attitudes about sleep are important
Some things you can do
1.
Widen the Goal Posts e.g.
don’t have fixed rules about sleep
2.
Recognise that not feeling
completely rested some days is normal, EVEN AFTER a good night’s sleep
3.
Recognise that there are
more things within your control such as:
·
Irregular sleep schedule
·
Daytime napping
·
Spending too much time in
bed
DO NOT
· Exaggerate the seriousness
as this can lead to more worry, e.g. “I look ten years older after no sleep
last night”
·
Let your world revolve
around sleep
·
Cancel activities as that
gives you more time to worry about the upcoming night
DO
·
Get on with things normal
even if you have had a bad night sleep
·
Even if you don’t sleep,
enjoy rest and relaxation, as these can be helpful
·
Accept that sleep problems
are not dangerous
Good luck! Stay calm and sleep well…
© King’s College London
Dr. Anastasia Burelomova
Trainee Counseling Psychologist