Subscribe Feed (RSS)Sleep Myths Insomniacs Should Ignore to Eliminate Insomnia Anxiety
May 11th, 2010 by admin | Filed under Uncategorized.Do You Dread Bedtime?
If you are an insomniac, you already know that one of the toughest things you must deal with is the feeling of dread that begins to take over as bedtime approaches. The tension rises as the fear of not being able to get a good night’s sleep begins to take root in the pit of your stomach. This feeling can be so overwhelming that even though just a few minutes ago, you were feeling drowsy and craving your pillow, the anxiety within you starts to overpower your drowsiness and the next thing you know is that even though all you want to do is sleep, you already know that it’s probably not going to happen. Of course, this just feeds your anxiety and, before you know it, you and sleep will remain strangers for yet another night.
We Often Create Our Own Problem
If you’re looking for a cause of insomnia, it’s possible that you need only look in a mirror because the sad fact is that we insomniacs create this anxiety and dread all by ourselves. In fact, we often create a self-fulfilling prophecy: our fear of not sleeping actually creates the conditions that prevent us from sleeping. We can spare ourselves this grief if we take the time to understand where some, if not all, of our anxiety comes from. Basically, it’s coming from between our own ears, from the beliefs and thoughts we have about sleep.
Victims of Our Own Misconceptions
Often we are the victims of our own misconceptions about sleep and the role it plays in our lives. If we can identify these misconceptions and myths about sleep, we can challenge them, disprove them and reprogram our beliefs and thoughts about sleep. So what are these myths or misconceptions about sleep that we need to banish from our lives?
Myth #1: Everyone needs 8 Hours of Sleep
A lot of insomniacs buy into this myth and allow it to dominate their thoughts about sleep. When it becomes clear that, once again, the magic 8 hours aren’t going to happen tonight, panic starts to set in, driving away any possibility of getting a good night’s sleep. Contrary to what many people believe, 8 hours of sleep is not necessary. Millions of people function perfectly well on 5-7 hours of sleep. Accepting the truth that 8 hours is nothing but a myth can be your first step in reprogramming your thoughts and beliefs about sleep. I know this was true for me. As soon as I realized that I didn’t necessarily require 8 hours sleep per night to be effective, I started to relax and began getting to sleep quicker than before.
Myth #2: Napping will help me catch up on last night’s sleep
If you buy into this myth, you will further disrupt your natural sleep rhythms and make it harder for you to get to sleep at your next bedtime. What you need to do is stay awake until your regular bedtime and allow your natural tiredness to send you into dreamland. If you have a nap, you’ll prevent your body from naturally regulating your sleep patterns and you’ll be perpetuating your sleep difficulties.
Myth #3: I can get more sleep and feel better if I stay in bed longer
Trying to force yourself to sleep is self-defeating because it will increase your anxiety which will in turn make it harder for you to get to sleep and reinforce your fears about going to bed.
I used to stay awake for an hour or two trying to will myself to sleep while the tension and frustration built up inside me. My stomach would be in knots, and my heart would start racing as I tried to force myself to sleep. Then I discovered that if I got up and did something like work, read a book or magazine or watch a little TV, I’d start to relax again, drowsiness would return and before I knew it, I’d be drifting off to sleep.
Now I no longer fight it. I no longer force myself to sleep. When those familiar feelings return, I give it a few minutes to see if they subside. If they do, I’ll be asleep in short order. If they don’t subside after a few minutes, I get up and do something that takes my mind off getting to sleep. I usually fall asleep much quicker than if I had just stayed in bed trying to force myself to sleep. I feel comfortable doing this because I also no longer believe the final myth.
Myth #5: It will be impossible for me to function well tomorrow if I don’t get a good sleep tonight.
On the contrary, I have learned that, in fact, I don’t need 8 hours sleep per night. I’ve also noticed that on days after getting far less than 8 hours sleep because of difficulty sleeping, I’ve actually felt and functioned better than I do when I get a full 8 hours or more of sleep. When I realized that this was true, it was a liberating experience because it freed my mind from worry about the quantity, and even the quality, of my sleep. This understanding in turn helps me relax and stay calm when I know that am not going to get the sleep I need.
Ignore the Myths, Eliminate Insomnia Anxiety and Get More Sleep
Just as we insomniacs can be the cause of insomnia, we can also look to ourselves for insomnia anxiety treatment. We need to challenge our belief in those sleep myths that generate stress and insomnia that victimize us. The sooner we take control over our ideas about what sleep should be, the sooner we can be on the road to eliminating insomnia. Once we’ve done that, insomnia anxiety should be drastically reduced or even eliminated, and nightly natural refreshing sleep should be the result. To learn more about insomnia and what you can do about it, please check out my free special report, “Pill and Drug-free Ways to Beat Insomnia available at insomnia-cure-4u.net/SpecialReport.pdf
Pleasant dreams!
John M. Bartanus is an educator, writer and publisher of websites such as insomnia-cure-4u.net insomnia-cure-4u.net as well as travel-insurance-central.com travel-insurance-central.com and best-tea-4u.com best-tea-4u.com
Tags: anxiety, Heart, sleep
