Clinical psychologist Steve Orma was in his early 40s when he developed insomnia — difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep I started getting into the frame of mind most people get sucked into. I worried, ‘What’s going on? Is there something wrong with me That fear of not being able to sleep is a phenomenon called “sleep anxiety,” says Orma, who went on to become a specialist in insomnia treatment. Left untreated, that anxiety can prevent people from actually falling asleep. “The more you focus on it, the less chance you’ll sleep, which then makes you more anxious. That’s the cycle that spins Focus on a wind-down time, not a bedtime Instead of trying to force yourself to go to bed at a specific time, even though you’re not sleepy, focus on winding down for bed earlier, says Dr. Ravi Aysola, director of the Sleep Disorders Center at the University of California, Los Angeles. Pick a time to transition from daytime activities to nighttime activities. This can look like unplugging from screens, putting on comfortable clothes and dimming the lights in your home. having a wind-down time instead of a strict bedtime can help lessen the feeling that you must get to sleep immediately — and can reduce the anxiety that can occur when you don’t. Managing sleep anxiety means also being cognizant of how much information you’re taking in about your sleep. The prevalence of sleep-tracking devices and wearables has led to the advent of orthosomnia, a type of insomnia developed from anxiety over wanting to achieve perfect sleep data, Sleep trackers can give you helpful information about how you slept, but it’s important to have a healthy level of skepticism when it comes to the data and a plan for what you’ll do with it If you use these devices to track your sleep, he says to ask yourself: “Is that information helping you make changes in your behavior or lifestyle, or is it stressing you out and making the insomnia worse?” If you notice you’ve been waking up feeling more rested, for example, that could tell you that your new wind-down time and earlier morning alarm are starting to work for you. If you tend to fixate on your sleep-tracker data, try tracking your sleep with a pen and paper instead. It can help you focus on how your sleep is feeling to you instead of the numbers. Reshaping your sleep habits is only half the battle, Orma says. The rest of the work comes down to shifting your mindset. Sleep will vary from night to night and everyone has a bad night of sleep now and then, so adjust your expectations accordingly.
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