Welcome to Sleep Science Academy; I’m Devin Burke, your sleep performance coach and founder of Sleep Science Academy. I’m going to share a simple technique with you to help fix insomnia.
If you have tried everything and are still facing challenges with sleep, try what I describe here and see how it helps.
The Challenge of Trying to Sleep
Trying to sleep is the biggest challenge to obtaining sleep because sleep is not something you can force. It’s something that is natural and should happen naturally.
Trying to sleep can compound the problem planting you in what is called the “insomniac’s paradox” (the more you try to sleep, the more elusive sleep becomes.).
Adequate rest becomes even more elusive because when you cannot sleep, you become more anxious about your rest. And, as you grow more anxious, your increased anxiety and stress release cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenalin, which compound the problem.
Four Strategies
How do you alleviate those harmful thoughts that create anxiety and keep you awake?
1-Welcome Them
The first thing is to welcome your thoughts.
Welcoming means becoming aware of your thoughts, and perhaps you can say, “Hey, oh, you again.” Like the thought that if you don’t sleep tonight, you’re going to… Fill in the blank; I won’t be able to get up; I will be terrible in the presentation.
Whatever the thought is, you want to welcome in that challenge.
2-Describe the Thought
Next, you want to describe the thought.
Describing your thought helps you recognize it –“ Oh, I have that thought again, that fill-in-the-blank of if I don’t sleep tonight, then tomorrow is going to be a wreck, I’m going to get sick, etc. This strategy helps you to recognize and block out those thoughts.
3-Thank Your Mind
You can thank your mind for identifying and blocking those negative thoughts that keep you awake. “Thank you, Mind, for giving me that thought of if I don’t sleep tonight, tomorrow will be a wreck, and I will get sick.”
4-Name the Thought
Give that negative, anxiety-inducing thought a name. Then, when that sentiment arises, you can say, “Oh, there it is. I’m having that fill-in-the-blank thought again. Hello, anxiety-inducing thought.”
This technique of welcoming, describing, thanking, and naming these ideas might sound counterintuitive. But merely creating awareness of these negative stress and anxiety-inducing thoughts can be sufficient to keep you out of fight or flight and in the rest and digest mode, which will allow you to fall asleep.
So, try this idea tonight when those thoughts creep in, causing anxiety and keeping you awake. Give this a shot, and let me know in the comments how it goes.
Final Thoughts
Sleep is as natural as your breath and beating heart; your body knows what to do, and you don’t try to do these things. Understanding the critical nature of sleep and how it works is essential to your health and well-being.
At Sleep Science Academy, we help thousands of people like you who struggle to sleep no matter how hard they try.
Working through these issues by yourself can be a heavy lift. That is why we offer our unique, empowering, and successful program that pairs each client with a professional sleep coach to support and guide them through their efforts.
If you seek to gain the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary for a lifetime of restful and restorative sleep, contact us today and schedule your complimentary sleep consultation with one of our professional sleep coaches to discover how Sleep Science Academy’s multifaceted process can help you achieve that goal.
You can learn more about this unique program and Dynamic Sleep Recalibration (DSR) in this brief article.