Tips to Improve Your Sleep
Sleep Hygiene: The Basics
Sleep hygiene means having good habits that help you sleep well. To start, try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. This helps your body get into a rhythm. Also, make your bedroom a calm place—keep it cool, quiet, and especially dark. Avoid screens like phones or TVs at least an hour before bed because the light can make it harder to fall asleep.
What you do during the day also affects your sleep. Try to get some sunlight and exercise, but avoid caffeine and alcohol close to bedtime (recognising it may take time for your body to body adjust). Create a bedtime routine that helps you relax, like reading or taking a warm bath. These small changes can make a big difference in helping you fall asleep faster and stay asleep through the night.
The Australian Psychological Society has produced a list of great sleep strategies.
What is Rumination
Rumination, or constantly thinking about the same worries or problems, can make it really hard to sleep. When your mind is stuck on the same thoughts, it’s tough to relax and drift off to sleep. These thoughts often get louder when everything else is quiet, like at bedtime. This can lead to lying awake for hours, feeling frustrated and anxious, which only makes it harder to sleep.
There’s no magic switch to completely turn off rumination. Your brain’s job is to consolidate information and build new synapses by dredging up moments and memories from your day — even the things that upset you. If the thoughts are anxious thoughts, your mind may even be trying to problem solve. However, the more we engage with these thoughts, the more they can increase.
However, meditation has been shown to be effective for three reasons:
It moves us away from fixating on specific thoughts by shifts our attention to other thoughts, feeling and sensations.
It makes us aware of our thoughts and take a ‘step back’.
It engages (but not encourage) the thoughts in a nonjudgmental way rather than ‘buying into’ or being ‘hooked’ by the thoughts.
Thanking Your Mind Exercise
You acknowledge and thank your mind for bringing up thoughts, even if they’re keeping you awake. By doing this, you create some distance from the thoughts, helping you let go of them more easily so you can relax and fall asleep.
Body Scan Meditation
Body scan meditation for sleep is a technique where you slowly focus on each part of your body, starting from your toes and moving up to your head. As you focus on each area, you notice any tension or discomfort, then relax those muscles, helping your body and mind calm down for a better night’s sleep.
Leaves on a Stream
This meditation invites you to simply observe your thoughts rather than engaging with them. You are invited to imagine placing your thoughts on leaves floating down a stream, watching them drift away.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is available at Daybreak Psychology. Contact us to make a referral to make a booking with our Geelong Psychologist.