Sleep is on everyone’s minds.
As we experience the ongoing strain of lockdown, a good night of nourishing sleep can sometimes feel like the balm we’re all seeking.
Frustratingly, for many of us, slipping off to the land of nod is not always as easy as we’d like it to be.
Good sleep promotes better mental and physical health. And gives us more stamina to cope with life’s daily ups and downs. When we experience difficulty in our sleeping life, a knock-on effect can be felt in our awake life. And an unhealthy cycle can then ensue.
Optimal sleep, however, needn’t be the stuff of dreams. (Pardon the pun.)
By understanding more about sleep, you’ll empower yourself to take the steps you need to in order to sleep better. Bye bye counting sheep, hello zzzzzs.
Separating fact from fiction when it comes to sleep
A lot of myths abound around sleep.
One of the biggest is that eight hours of sleep is an absolute must.
This is not unequivocally true.
I’m no advocate of rationing sleep time either.
Margaret Thatcher famously said that she slept only four hours a night. And she’s not the only one who claimed to get by on minimal sleep. Some high profile individuals, both past and present, have spoken of their ability to get by on very little sleep.
Between eight hours of shut eye on the one side and as little as four on the other, it’s difficult to know exactly how much sleep you should be getting.
Thankfully, the answer is simple.
The right amount of sleep for you is the amount that makes you feel most alert for most of the day.
That could be eight hours for some people, and a different amount of hours for others.
The difference between sleep deprivation and insomnia
On the face of it, the difference between sleep deprivation and insomnia can look like semantics.
However, there is a difference.
Insomnia: this is when someone cannot sleep, or wakes up frequently, no matter how perfect the conditions might be (quiet room, no screens etc.)
Sleep deprivation: something specific keeps waking a person up (e.g. noise, restless legs, poor air ventilation in the room)
While both conditions can feel insurmountable, a different approach is taken for each. I address this further on in my post.
Creating optimal sleep conditions for yourself
Just as not everyone needs eight hours of sleep, there are different considerations to take into account for each individual who is experiencing sleep difficulties.
The current advice around sleep is well-intentioned.
Ensuring that you stop your screen time a while before you go to bed is a good idea. Creating a calm space in your bedroom is always a smart strategy. Weighted blankets are enjoying a surge in popularity for their apparent benefits in promoting sleep.
My concern though is that it’s shared as a one-size-fits-all solution. This reduces its ability to help.
The stuff keeping one person awake might not turn a hair on the head of another person.
So how do we help individuals who are not sleeping?
Sleep S.O.S. – bespoke sleep support for you
An additional problem with a one-size-fits-all sleep solution is that the onus is on you to figure out what will help your own set of circumstances.
When you’re already feeling worse for the wear due to lack of sleeping, this task can feel overwhelming.
Good sleep is made up of a combination of things.
The points mentioned above (calming bedroom, reduced screen time) are considered to be matters of sleep hygiene. These relate to the environment you are creating for sleep.
Getting these factors right definitely helps to make for a better night’s sleep.
But they’re not the only story.
The key to getting a good night’s sleep also lies in addressing what is happening in your life.
During Covid, this point has been brought home in a big way.
People are dealing with isolation, bereavement, home schooling, job losses etc. These circumstances can be stressful during any period. Coupled with the uncertainty we’re all feeling around the pandemic, people have a lot to cope with.
Understanding each person’s own set of circumstances means I can tailor a unique sleep prescription for them.
My clients are often greatly encouraged to know that there are physical ways they can calm their nervous system. These simple exercises, which include breathing and movement, stimulate the creation of neurochemicals that aid sleep.
It’s here that we go back to the point about sleep deprivation and insomnia.
Clients having frequent nights of sleep deprivation have the power to nip this (awful) experience in the bud before it becomes insomnia.
As humans, we quickly form habits. Experiencing sleep deprivation for a few weeks can set us on a path to think dysfunctionally about sleep. And we can then begin expecting a poor night’s sleep.
Don’t lose heart if you are dealing with insomnia. The condition can be treated too and improvements made to your sleep. But it is easier to correct sleep deprivation before it becomes chronic.
I use a practical, evidence-based approach, that includes CBT-I*, to provide a toolbox of strategies for my clients. Each client I work with receives a programme specific to their situation.
I share more about my Sleep S.O.S. service here, and I would be delighted to chat with you about your sleep circumstances.
Please feel free to contact me. I’m available Monday to Friday and I work with clients around the world via online therapy sessions.
* Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia is the most effective evidence-based treatment for insomnia. It is the first line of medical recommendation, before pharmacology. CBT-I is based around psychoeducation and behavioural and cognitive interventions for insomnia. CBT-I methods work by resetting the dysfunctional sleeping pattern that you have become used to.
It is perfectly fine to take this session alongside taking sleeping meds, and you can use it as replacement support when you are ready to reduce and stop them.