subject: Tired but can't sleep: Conquer Psychophysiologic Insomnia [print this page] Tired but can't sleep: Conquer Psychophysiologic Insomnia
Tired, But Can't Sleep...?
People who have had insomnia for long periods of time develop what is called Psychophysiologic Insomnia. It's a big word, but in brief what it means is; your body EXPECTS to have problems falling asleep, therefore it DOES! Think of it this way, if EVERY night about 15-20 minutes before you go to bed you realize "bedtime is coming up, I'm going to have difficulty AGAIN." As a result, your blood pressure goes up and you release more Epinephrine (adrenaline) in your bloodstream, all things that are very NON-conducive to sleep.
Remember Pavlov's dogs? These are the dogs that were fed after a bell rang. After a while, you could ring the bell and they expected to be fed so much that they would salivate and go crazy, even if you don't feed them! There was an expectation with the bell that something was going to follow. With Psychophysiologic Insomnia there's an expectation for example when you brush your teeth that you're going to have difficulty and the actual acts of brushing your teeth can cause high blood pressure.
The way you do it is by changing up your typical behavior. For example if your typical behavior is; Have dinner, watch TV, change into pajamas, brush my teeth, then go to bed, try changing the order of your routine! Maybe change into your bed clothes first, then have dinner, brush your teeth after dinner, watch some TV and then go to bed. By changing the behavior, you will change the way your body heats up to it. Other things you can do before bedtime is to take a warm shower, as the body heats up, once you get out of the shower it begins to cool down. Cooling is very conducive to sleep; it's MUCH easier to sleep in a cool environment than a warm environment, so cooling off your body by heating it up first and then allowing it to cool can be very sleep inducing.
You may even consider changing your environment; you may find that your bedroom is associated with stress. Sleep in the guest bedroom! If you're somebody who sleeps better on vacation, or on trips than at home, there's something about your bedroom that is stressful. It could be anything from a bright light, to a noisy environment, or just that your body simply makes some type of association with stress in your bedroom. You may also want to try changing up the layout of your bedroom.
Are THESE 7 mistakes KILLING your sleep??
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