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Re: Sleep restriction advice

Posted by Cassidy on November 29, 2001 at 08:25:34:

In Reply to: Sleep restriction advice posted by Ellie on November 29, 2001 at 05:19:40:

Hi Ellie. To answer your question, yes, it does make a difference. Your goal is to increase your prior wakefulness and eventually just fall asleep in bed out of sheer exhaustion. The greater your prior wakefulness, the more your body temperature will drop and sleep will come naturally. SO RELISH STAYING AWAKE! THIS IS WHAT YOUR BODY WAS MEANT TO DO AND THIS WILL MAKE YOU SLEEP BETTER! This will better your association between your bed and sleep. You don't want to let sleep rule you, rather you want to train your body to sleep when you want it to.

I think what we're all so worried about is not getting enough sleep, i.e., that it will somehow affect our moods, performance, looks, relationships with people, etc. But in reality the thing that affects all these is just our worry about sleep, not the actual sleep loss itself. I haven't had a cold in over a year, so technically I'm healthier than when I slept 8 to 10 hours a night.

If you go back to Dr. Jacobs books, the body is meant to be completely physically exhausted before you sleep. (Think back to when you weren't an insomniac, if you were like me I loved to be physically exhausted. I played and had fun until I just dropped and consequently slept like a baby. Actually, this is what kids do, i.e., they play and play and play until they just give out; they never want to sleep and consequently they do). Lack of sleep will not affect anything so don't worry about it. Just keep on a schedule without thinking about sleep at all. We are all caught up in "what I should do to sleep," ie, should I go to bed at this time, get up at this time, eat this before bed, not eat this before bed, etc, etc. The point is, it doesn't matter what you do, just follow Jacobs'/Wiedman's simple rules and DO NOTHING. Realize again that you cannot force sleep. It has to just come to you. Once you stop trying to sleep, you will sleep. Sounds simple, but for some reason it is very difficult to trust this. We keep thinking, maybe this relaxation exercise or this pill will work, maybe reading in bed, maybe a bath. Sure, some of these will relax you, but the key is in doing nothing to sleep. You must train your body to just drop into bed. I know, it sounds impossible. But the key is just repetition and trusting the few simple rules. And if you get anxious close to your bedtime, remind yourself that it is a good thing you're staying up because this is just increasing your prior wakefulness and you will eventually sleep very well.

It's funny how the more I get into this sleep restriction, I realize how much sleep is like golf (Wiedman is absolutely right). The way you get good at golf is repetition. You follow a general pre-shot routine to get you ready and just swing like you always do, and the ball just goes. Your body acts automatically. Sleep should be the same way, just a routine that you follow without thinking about it. Funny that in golf too if you force shots, they will be crummy shots. Same with sleep, if you force it then it won't come.

Hope this helps.

P.S. I've noticed that after a bad night of sleep I often slow down the next day. This decreases my prior wakefulness. So now I stay as active as possible the day after a bad night and usually sleep much better. The key is really staying active the whole day and before bedtime so you will just drop into bed. Try to have a zest for life in spite of feeling tired. You'll find that in reality you're not that tired at all and can do amazing things on little sleep. And remember, functioning on little sleep will not hurt you. In fact it is just preparing your body for very efficient/very sound sleep soon. In fact, relish the fact that you can do so much on very little sleep. This is something many cannot do.

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