Sleep restriction and stimulus control
This is where work begins to really change your sleep. It’s about planning the time you are in bed. You can try two different methods: Sleep restriction and Stimulus control. Keep a sleep diary while you try the methods.
Method 1: Sleep restriction
Many people with sleep problems lie in bed much longer than the time they actually sleep. This increases the stress of not being able to sleep. Sleep restriction means that the time in bed is adjusted to the time you actually sleep. This method has yielded the best results in research.
Proceed as follows:
- Use the sleep diary to figure out how much you have slept per night, compared to the time you have been lying in bed. If you have slept for six hours, but have been in bed for eight hours, try to shorten your time in bed to six hours per night for a week.
- Decide what time to go to bed and what time to get up, for example, go to bed at midnight and get up at 6. Set times that suit you, so that your everyday life works. Keep the same times every night and morning, but don’t lie in bed for less than five hours.
Evaluate after a week
Evaluate with the help of the sleep diary after a week. Have you slept more consistently? Have you slept most of the time you were in bed? If the answer is yes, increase your time in bed by 15-30 minutes. It’s best to go to bed 15-30 minutes earlier. If you are alert even though you have reduced your time in bed, do not add extra time. Evaluate in the same way after another week and possibly change the time in bed again.
The method requires patience
Sleep restriction is a tough method that requires patience. Even if sleep has improved according to your sleep diary, you may at this stage feel even more tired and not experience any improvement. Try to put up with the fatigue and have the stamina to try out the method for a few more weeks to see if you can sleep deeper and more consistently.
Method 2: Stimulus control
Stimulation control is about reviewing your sleeping habits. What do you use your bed for? It is important that your bed is associated with being a place where you sleep, rather than being associated with sleepless hours.
Get up if you haven’t fallen asleep within 20-30 minutes, even if this feels tough. This also applies if you wake up in the middle of the night. Sit somewhere else than in bed. Do something that feels calm and comfortable, such as listening to music. When you feel sleepy, go back to bed.
Make it impossible to check the time during the night, as this often increases the stress of lying awake. Keep in mind that often the important thing is not how many hours you sleep, but how your sleep quality is.
Try the recommended methods and keep a sleep diary for 14 days before moving on to sleep school step 4. Continue to keep a sleep diary.