UWSP Counseling Center

Overcoming Insomnia

Trouble falling asleep, or staying asleep? Tired when you wake up? To help reduce insomnia, try these ideas.

Caffeine and nicotine are stimulants that keep you from falling asleep. Alcohol disturbs your natural sleep cycle resulting in frequent awakening and unrestful sleep.
Caffeine can be found in coffee, tea, soft drinks and chocolate, as well as prescription and over-the-counter drugs. If you are taking medication, check to see if sleeplessness is a side effect.

Research has found that regular exercisers fall asleep more quickly and sleep longer than non-exercisers.
Preferably in late afternoon but not too close to bedtime.

Get up in the morning, eat your meals, study and perform other daily activities at roughly the same time each day.
Our bodies respond best to order and consistency.

Daytime napping makes it harder to fall asleep at night and decreases the soundness of your nocturnal sleep.
A nap deprives your body of two important sleep components - dream and deep sleep. These components of sleep recharge our batteries and increase our overall alertness.

However, because hunger disrupts sleep, a light bedtime snack, or glass of warm milk may help you sleep.

Keep your bedroom quiet, dark, cool, and comfortable.
Since time pressure is not conductive to sleep, put your alarm clock where you can hear it, not see it.

Eating, studying or watching TV in bed can scramble your body's contextual cues. If your bed be comes a multipurpose area, you may find it more difficult to fall asleep.
Your bed, and if possible your bedroom, should be associated only with relaxing, pleasant activities, not stressful ones.

Engage in relaxing, non-alerting activity such as light reading, listening to music, or soaking in a hot tub.
Make a smooth transition to bedtime by doing the same things each night just before bed.

If it's your bedtime and you're not tired, do something to further relax and increase your drowsiness.

Deep breathing.
Progressive relaxation and tensing of different parts of your body.
Visualize a pleasant, soothing scene like lying on a sandy beach listening to waves lapping the shore.

The more you try, the harder it becomes. If you find your self unable to fall asleep, get up and do something else. Try a repetitious task such as knitting or rolling coins. Stay up as long as you wish and then turn to bed.
Sleep cannot be pursed it must over come you.

If this doesn't work, get out of bed and do some quiet activity until you're sleepy once again, then return to bed.
Repeat as often as necessary.

Regardless of the day of the week or when you went to bed, set your alarm and get up at the same time every morning.
This helps to establish a sleep/wake cycle and will eventually help you to feel sleepy at the appropriate time.

Don't make up for an acute bout of insomnia by staying in bed later in the morning.
Stay physically active the day after a bad sleep and avoid napping unless you are certain that naps will help you sleep the following night.
Don't attempt to make up for lost sleep by going to bed early. The best way to assure tiredness for a full night's sleep is to maintain your usual schedule.
Limit the time spent physically in bed. Staying in bed for excessive time results in sleep that is less efficient and less rejuvenating for the body.