The impact of thoughts and safety behaviour
Thoughts have a major impact on sleep. When you’ve slept badly for a few nights, you may think that you can’t cope with what you had planned for the following day. You start worrying. This can further increase your concerns about sleep and make it harder to sleep, which leads to more worry. Maybe you cancel activities because you’re afraid of not being able to cope. Other behaviours you may start to engage in to reduce your risk of insomnia are trying to catch up on sleep by spending many hours in bed, going to bed early, sleeping for longer on your days off, sleeping for a while during the day, and "trying” to sleep even though you are not sleepy.
Look at worry more realistically
It’s easy to think negatively when you’re tired. It can be difficult to look at the situation from several perspectives. Write down the worries you have about your sleep. For example, this could be:
- I won't have the energy to do what I have to do...
- I’ll make a fool of myself myself because I’m tired...
- I‘ll get angry and irritated...
- I might get sick from getting too little sleep...
Try to think that it’s normal to sleep badly sometimes and that it doesn’t matter if you are tired during the day. You can do what you have planned, even if you are tired. Your sleep diary may make it easier to evaluate your symptoms during the day and see how they vary.
Some myths about sleep
- I need eight hours’ sleep.
Wrong. You’ll be OK with much less. - I need to sleep more tonight to catch up on the sleep I lost yesterday.
Wrong. You don’t need to sleep more hours because sleep becomes deeper and more efficient after a night of little sleep. - If I can’t sleep properly, I can’t work tomorrow.
Wrong. Studies show that we perform well even after a few nights of bad sleep. - I haven’t slept at all.
Wrong. This claim is rarely true when doing tests in a sleep laboratory.
The experience of not having slept may be due to waking up when sleep is shallow. You only remember your waking moments.
Try to accept the troubles you are having right now and to refrain from worrying about any consequences of your lack of sleep. After 14 days, evaluate the sleep school.