{"id":70696,"date":"2022-02-16T07:59:51","date_gmt":"2022-02-16T12:59:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/?p=70696"},"modified":"2022-12-12T13:24:31","modified_gmt":"2022-12-12T18:24:31","slug":"how-changing-your-thoughts-can-improve-your-sleep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/healthy-tomorrows\/how-changing-your-thoughts-can-improve-your-sleep\/","title":{"rendered":"How changing your thoughts can improve your sleep"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The internet is full of sleep hygiene tips<\/a> like \u201cput your phone away,\u201d \u201ckeep your bedroom dark\u201d and \u201cdon\u2019t exercise too close to bedtime.\u201d Although these tips are useful, few people focus on how changing your thoughts can improve your sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnhelpful thinking is connected to upsetting emotions and unhelpful behaviours that interfere with good sleep, so healthy thinking is important to healthy sleeping,\u201d said Dr. Cheryl Harris, a clinical, health and rehabilitation psychologist at The Ottawa Hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although upsetting thoughts can surface at any time, they can be particularly unhelpful as you try to fall asleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLying quietly in bed is a time when worries\u2014upsetting, repetitive thoughts\u2014can emerge,\u201d said Dr. Ivan Valdivia, a psychologist at The Ottawa Hospital.  \u201cThese thoughts can increase heart rate, blood pressure and muscle tension, making sleep less likely.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changing the way you think isn\u2019t easy, especially if you\u2019ve been thinking the same way for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drs. Valdivia and Harris share their tips for managing your thoughts to help you get a better night\u2019s sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Become aware of your thoughts. <\/strong>The first step to changing unhelpful thoughts is to become aware of them and the anxiety they generate about lack of sleep. For example, thoughts like \u201cI only have two hours left to get some sleep,\u201d or \u201cWhy am I laying here awake again?\u201d only make sleeping more difficult.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Beware of thinking traps<\/strong>.  Try to catch yourself if you jump to conclusions about the future (\u201cI will not sleep tonight,\u201d) use all-or-nothing thinking (\u201cI must get eight hours of sleep or I\u2019m a mess\u201d), or overgeneralize (\u201cevery time I don\u2019t function well, it\u2019s because of my sleep.\u201d)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Challenge unhelpful thoughts and offer alternatives.<\/strong> Try to replace the unhelpful thoughts above with more accurate ones like, \u201cI will sleep when my body is ready,\u201d or \u201cI might be tired tomorrow but it probably won\u2019t be the disaster I\u2019m imagining.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Try to take the pressure off.<\/strong>  Remember that the harder you try to sleep, the harder it will be to fall asleep. \u201cGood sleepers\u201d are people who trust that sleep will come spontaneously. When this trust is weakened, sleep problems arise.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Set a dedicated \u201cworry time.\u201d  <\/strong>If worrying is getting in the way of sleep, try to dedicate about 30 minutes of \u201cworry time\u201d each day at least two hours before bed. Write downworries and problem-solve aspects within your control. This can help you actively deal with the concerns that may be keeping you up at night.  Just thinking about your worries in your head during \u201cworry time\u201d will not have the same positive effect as writing them down and sorting them out.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Exercise caution around sleep tracking devices.<\/strong>  Although these devices can give you useful information and develop positive behaviours around sleep, there is evidence that they can also foster an over-focus on sleep.  You may become hyper aware of when sleep veers off the potentially narrowly-defined path of what your sleep \u201cshould be.\u201d This can create anxiety and generate new self-fulfilling sleep problems that, in some cases, the apps were meant to help avoid or fix in the first place.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    A night or two of poor sleep is nothing to worry about.  But if you regularly struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep, you\u2019re not alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Sleep difficulties are common and costly<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Up to one in four Canadians have some form of sleep difficulty, but many of us suffer in silence. Lack of sleep may cost the Canadian economy $21 billion annually and 80,000 working days per year.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Good sleep can support good health<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Sleep is a vital process that, along with diet and exercise, plays a big part in maintaining your mental and physical health.  In fact, sleep helps people:<\/p>\n\n\n\n