Around 20% of the adult population are said to be sleep-deprived at any one time. Experiencing mild to moderate sleep disturbance also causes problems in cognitive thinking and reaction times comparable to being drunk. Maybe you weren't expecting to hear that, but it has been shown to be true. Maybe you have felt drained when working to deadline or on a tough project and sleep has been the last thing on your mind.
So what if you are waking up several times during the night? what do you find yourself doing? Tell yourself you should stop thinking about something?
Do you turn over, plump up the pillow and fall asleep again or does your brain start to rev up and charge into action? Do you have to get up and make a drink or read a book to feel sleepy again? Can you sleep better in a chair than in your bed? Do you dread going back into bed? You are not alone. I've worked with people who suffered sleep deprivation and its' knock-on effects on their lives. It can be helped, it doesn't need to continue to have the impact it is.
If there are lots of things going on in your life, perhaps some things you have not tackled before, it can be difficult to drop off to sleep again. You see, I think of it like this, your brain is waking you up to help resolve the problem consciously. If our unconscious mind, the part that has all our previous experiences and values safely tucked away, cannot resolve a problem during REM sleep (the deepest part of sleep, when Rapid Eye Movement occurs), it requests the conscious mind get in on the act to help solve the problem. It's doing it's best to help in this situation. Perhaps this is not what we ideally want at 4am in the morning, so it can feel frustrating and tiring!
In the past, during difficult times in my life, I have found my normally regular sleep pattern destroyed temporarily. I found myself waking up in the wee small hours as if I was in an unpleasant dream. Then whatever had been playing on my mind earlier in the day came back to me. I was left considering what it was that I was being asked to solve. I was fortunate as sleep eventually descended after a while. Perhaps in part as I took a few simple steps to deal with the problem.
Writing my thoughts down was one way of tackling that shut-eye intrusion. Have you tried it? What did you find happened? Also making sure you switch off equipment like TV and phone at least 30-45 minutes before bedtime.
What else do you use to help with sleep disturbance/ insomnia? Or are you a master at super sleep habits? I look forward to hearing your own stories of sleep, how you get back to sleep or drop off to sleep in the first place? What do you think has helped you deal with sleeplessness?
I'd love to hear what experiences with sleep (or lack of) that you have had.
