When worry drives your life, studies show you’re more likely to develop chronic insomnia. Here’s how to prevent that—and get a good night’s sleep.
Stop those thoughts. Once you hit the sheets, worry time is over—especially about sleeping. There’s a therapy trick called “thought-stopping” that works like a charm, says Mary Susan Esther, MD, director of the Sleep Center at South Park in Charlotte, North Carolina. “If you find yourself thinking about tomorrow and saying, ‘It’s going to be a bad day because I’m never going to sleep,’ immediately think: ‘STOP. Don’t go there. I know I’ve done this before. If I don’t fall asleep, I’ll get out of bed, flip through a magazine, but I am NOT going to focus on this stuff!’ ” Sounds simple, but once you try it, you’ll find it works.
Dump the 24/7 routine. Even if we manage to drop into bed in enough time to get our optimal amount of sleep, our minds are full of what-if’s, why-did-we’s and what’s-on-the-agenda-tomorrow’s. All this rumination and agitation ignites stress hormones that keep us in a state of perpetual arousal. That’s why we should make a serious attempt to simplify our lives, says Cecile Andrews, PhD, author of Slow Is Beautiful. Draw up your to-do list, then take a big breath and start crossing things off, she says. It’s a bit humbling to realize, but you really don’t have to do it all.
Don’t work so late. The prevailing thought is that you have to stay late to get the job done. But working right up until bedtime is bound to affect your sleep. Go home at a reasonable hour. The truth is that it’s better to go get some sleep, then come back and do more work in the morning. Studies show that after a good night’s sleep, your increased ability to concentrate means that you can work faster and more accurately.
Recognize yourself. How do you deal with stress? Pig out on chocolate mousse? Skip meals? Refill your wine glass a couple of times after dinner? All of these classic stress responses actually make falling asleep and staying asleep more difficult. But if you know your stress response will sabotage your sleep, plan ahead of time how you’re going to handle something you just know is going to raise your stress level. If you know the big sales conference is coming up next week, for example, get into bed an hour early every night this week, which will give your body a biochemical boost of stress-proofing growth hormone to ride into the week. If you know you’re going to see your ex when he drops off your daughter Saturday evening, take time out and meditate for 20 minutes before he’s supposed to arrive.
Get physical. Burn off a rush of stress with a 15-minute walk. Studies show that those who regularly exercise sleep better than those who don’t.
Forgive the past. Anger toward someone who has wronged you can trigger a cascade of stress hormones that can haunt you through the night. To prevent that effect, think about how you were hurt, your response, and how you feel right now. Then think about whether or not there’s anything in the background of the person who hurt you that explains what he or she did. If there is, put yourself in their shoes—and see if you can’t forgive them. If you can, you’ll sleep like a baby.