subject: Sleep Deprivation Treatment by Sleep Restriction Therapy [print this page] Sleep Deprivation Treatment by Sleep Restriction Therapy
Sleep restriction therapy requires patients to limit the amount of time they spend in bed to an amount that equals their average total sleep time. Thus, if patients normally spend 8 h in bed, but sleep only 5 h, time spend in bed is initially restricted to 5 h.
Stimulus control treatment consists of the behavioral instructions of:
going to bed only when sleepy,
using the bed and bedroom only for sleep and sex,
whenever one is unable to fall asleep after 15-20 minutes, getting out of bed and going into another room and only returning when sleepy,
having a regular time to get out of bed in the morning even if one only had a little sleep the night(s) before, and
not taking naps during the day.
The idea of stimulus control treatment is to retrain the individual with insomnia to associate the bed and bedroom with rapid sleep onset. This is accomplished by limiting activities not compatible with sleep that serve as cues for staying awake and also by adhering to a consistent sleep-wake schedule.
If you suffer from insomnia it is advised that you not lie in bed tossing and turning.
You should find another quiet place to lie down until you feel ready to fall asleep, and then return to your bedroom to sleep.
What is Sleep Restriction therapy?
Sleep restriction therapy is a behavioral treatment for insomnia. It works to improve your sleep efficiency by limiting the amount of time you allow yourself to sleep in bed.
Sleep restriction works on a less extreme level to increase your desire to sleep. This leads to a consolidation of your sleep, less fitful sleeping, and improved sleep efficiency.
Sleep Restriction Treatment
It is important to keep track of your sleep patterns with a sleep log. This will record your bedtime, the time you spend asleep, the time you spend in bed, and the time you get up on a daily basis.
Do not spend less than four hours in bed, not even if you feel you sleep less. Start restricting yourself to this amount of time in bed.
Each day you will calculate your sleep efficiency. Once you are sleeping at least 85 percent of the time you are spending in bed, you will increase the time in bed by 15 minutes. You will keep increasing the time in bed using this sleep efficiency as your goal until the time in bed stabilizes.
If you are older than 65 years old, your rules are slightly different. Your sleep efficiency goal is 80 percent and you are allowed a 30 minute nap during the day.
