Christian Therapist for women of color with anxiety and insomnia throughout CA
Insomnia can sometimes turn evenings into the dreaded time. As night approaches, you begin to think to yourself "Great! Now I'm going to spend my time laying awake instead of sleeping like everyone else." You might find yourself avoiding the bedroom or even delaying sleep because you know you're going to have a tough time falling asleep.
Insomnia can really be a real pain. Tossing and turning before you're able to fall asleep is very aggravating. Perhaps you've tried sleeping pills, but maybe you don't want to have to take a pill before you get some shut eye. Well, here are a few tips to help you drift off to sleep faster:
1) Create a restful nighttime routine: Many of us come back home from work in the evening, then continue to be busy, and then try to fall asleep after that. Your body needs to gradually transition from busy mode to rest mode. Your body needs a sign that it's time to begin to release the melatonin you need to become sleepy. Create a solid calming night time routine for yourself. This sleepy time routine is a great way to send your body that signal it needs. Choose any activity that feels soothing to you. It could include relaxing with a nice book, listening to some soothing music, drinking a cup of caffeine free tea (caffeine will keep you up, so avoid this at night), soaking in the tub or doing a light stretch. It doesn't really matter which activity you choose- as long as it's relaxing and calm.
2) Exercise at the right time: I'm sure by now you've heard that you need to exercise for about 30 minutes a day to keep you healthy. Well, did you also know that exercising 3 to 6 hours before bed time could actually improve your sleep? Well, it's partly because there is a correlation between your body temperature and your sleep cycles. An average sleeper has a higher body temperature during the day and a lower body temperature in the evening. Exercise helps increase your body temperature- and of course it helps your body release endorphins (happy hormones). So not only would exercising at the right times help regulate your body temperature, it could also boost your mood. A win win for sure.
3) Keep your home cool in the evening: When your body temperature begins to fall in the evening, it signals your body to produce melatonin- the sleep hormone. However, if your body temperature is still too high, your body doesn't know that it's supposed to prepare for sleep. To give your body a competitive edge, ensure that your home is cool in the evenings so that your body temperature can also fall to the appropriate level. So, a warm body signals your brain to wake up, and a cool body signals the brain to begin to shut down for the night.
4) Make your bedroom cozy and inviting: You work hard all day, and then you completely ignore the little things when you get back home. Your bedroom should be a place of relaxation. Think of it like your own personal spa. When you walk into a spa, the light is usually dim, it's quiet, it smells great and the temperature is nice and cool. It doesn't have to cost you much to recreate that effect. Make sure your sheets and clean, get a bottle of essential oils to get you relaxed (lavender is usually a great choice), dim your lights in the evening and maybe even play sounds of nature or some other relaxing sound. The goal is to create a comfortable environment so that your mind begins to relax the moment you walk into your bedroom. If your bedroom is cluttered and messy, chances are you won't find it relaxing enough to sleep- especially if you're already struggling with insomnia.
5) Avoid electronics an hour before bedtime: I know we are the social media generation. While social media is a great way to socialize and learn the latest gossip, those phone screens do nothing good for insomnia. Phones, tablets and televisions all emit blue light. Blue light disrupts the production of melatonin- the sleep hormone. Without an appropriate level of melatonin in your body you just won't be able to sleep well. If you phone or tablet becomes a temptation, try storing it away from your bed. Don't keep it on your nightstand- as it's too easy to reach in the middle of the night Some people even keep their phones in another room so that they don't reach for it in the middle of the night.
And if you'd like to learn a lot more habits to help you sleep, click here to learn more.
Now that you know 5 easy steps to manage your insomnia, start implementing them and let me know how it goes. If you're ready to finally kick insomnia out of your life, click here to schedule a free 15 minute consultation call to see if CBT for Insomnia is the right treatment for your sleep problems. Remember, there is help for your insomnia, you just have to reach out. I also offer online sessions for clients throughout California.
ready to finally sleep?
Find out the 5 myths about insomnia that are keeping you awake- and how YOU can FINALLY sleep!
Most people know what insomnia is. About 30 percent of people will struggle with insomnia at some point in their lives. If you're not familiar with insomnia, count yourself lucky. Unfortunately your quality of sleep tends to worsen with age. Well, insomnia is simply difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. To make it more specific, most insomniacs or people who struggle with sleep problems, lay awake for more than 30 minutes per night before they're able to drift off to sleep
It is estimated by the National Institutes of Health that about 30 percent of the general population have some struggles with sleep. That equals to millions of people who can't fall asleep or stay asleep every single day. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT for Insomnia or CBT-I) is one of the leading treatments for insomnia in the United States. If you're considering getting some help for your sleep struggles, here are some of the benefits of CBT for Insomnia.
Insomnia is experienced by about 3 million people in the US alone. It often is accompanied by a bit of anxiety and frustration. Sleep becomes an ugly word and the bedroom is thought of as a dreaded place. Insomnia is especially difficult because a lack of sleep can lead to negative mood, reduced concentration during the day and even some grogginess. Sleep loss actually fatigues the connection between the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala. this simply means it has a negative effect in the actual brain structure.
Traditional insomnia treatments often include the use of benzodiazepines or sleeping pills, which often come with side effects or a risk of dependency. Plus the truth is these pills don't actually cure insomnia- they merely treat the symptoms on a day to day basis. Click here to read my previous blog post Insomnia and sleep Insomnia chronicles: The scary truth about those sleeping pills you take
What if you're looking for an insomnia treatment without the use of pills? Enter Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). CBT-I is a 6 to 8-week treatment for people who struggle with insomnia. It's useful in both men and women- regardless of age or the amount of years you've struggled with sleep problems.
It involves a weekly meeting with a therapist or sleep specialist who is trained in CBT-I to discuss a tailored treatment plan for you. Understand that if you do not follow through with your sleep plan, CBT-I will not work for you. But if you collaborate with your therapist and follow through each day, over the course of as little as 6 weeks, you will see a drastic improvement in your sleeping patterns. All the research actually shows that CBT-I is more effective than sleeping pills. Read more about CBT for Insomnia here.
CBT-I has been tagged as the most effective treatment for any adult mental health problem. It's been sanctioned by:
The Mayo Clinic
Stanford Health Care
Harvard Health
The Veterans Health Administration
CBT for insomnia involves an initial assessment by a therapist or sleep specialist. During this assessment we'll go over all the details of your insomnia, and we will also rule out causes of your insomnia such as stress, trauma, anxiety, depression, among many other factors.
You'll also meet with your therapist 5 more times. The first 3 sessions are weekly, and the last 2 are biweekly. If you need additional sessions or a booster after a few months, that could also be arranged.
As a licensed marriage and family therapist who provides counseling and therapy to women with anxiety, I also provide insomnia treatment in Murrieta using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). For women within California who are too far away from the Murrieta, Temecula or Menifee, I provide insomnia treatment online.
CBT for Insomnia (or CBT-I) is a 6 to 8 week treatment for people who struggle with insomnia. It's the first line insomnia treatment in the USA and it is highly recommended by sleep researchers and sleep experts. Click here to schedule your free 15 minute consultation call so that insomnia can be a thing of the past.
Find out how CBT for insomnia can help you sleep again in as little as 5 sessions.
ready to finally sleep?
Find out the 5 insomnia myths that are keeping you awake- and how YOU can FINALLY sleep!
Insomnia sucks. Something as simple as sleep becomes elusive. You do everything you can to get some sleep, but nothing works. So you head over to your primary care physician and he prescribes you a sleeping pill. You take it one day and it seems to work. So you begin to pop a sleeping pill every night. One year later, it is part of your routine. You put your pajamas on, get some water, swallow your pill and drift off to sleep. However, there are some scary facts about sleeping pills you don't know.
1) They are not tested for long term use: When your doctor or physician writes that prescription for Ambien or Lunesta, his expectation is that you only take it as needed. As needed means taking it every once in a while- not every day or twice a day. Truth is that these sleeping pills haven't actually been tested for every day use. So who really knows the long term side effects of these seemingly harmless pills that you're popping each day? Pretty scary.
2) You might be overdosing yourself: Let's get sciencey (I know it's not a real word). Well, the half life of a substance, is the amount of time it takes for half the amount of that substance to be metabolized or eliminated from your body. With sleep medications, many of them remain in your system when you take your next dose. So for example, the half life of Ativan and Xanax is 12 hours. So it means it takes 12 hours for half the dose to be eliminated in your body. It means that if you take 1 Xanax at 7pm, by 7am the next morning, half of the dose is still swimming around in your system. So if you take another Xanax shortly after, you might have more of the dose than you need. When you take it day after day, you're layering the medication in your system.
3) Sleep medications can be more dangerous for women and the elderly: For some strange reason, these sleeping medications metabolize (get eliminated) slower at night, in women, and in the elderly. So as a woman, when you take sleep medications at night, it gets absorbed a lot slower than a man who took one during the day. Very few people actually take sleep medications during the day, so think about it. In the elderly there is also a greater risk for slip and falls due to the impaired next day coordination these sleeping pills could cause.
4) There is a risk of dependency: Physicians prescribe sleep medications as needed for a reason. When these pills are used over a long period of time, your body actually begins to depend on it. This means after a while, you don't get great quality sleep if you haven't taken your sleeping pill that night.
5) Sleeping pills don't cure insomnia: What's the point of taking sleeping pills night after night if your insomnia is not going to go away? Many people take medication with the hope that the root cause of their sleep disorder will be solved. But in the case os insomnia medication, your insomnia doesn't get cured. What you're doing is essentially putting a small bandage on a big problem.
So before you rush to your physician for a magic pill, remember that sleeping pills aren't necessarily a cure all.
As a licensed marriage and family therapist who provides counseling and therapy to women with anxiety, I also provide insomnia treatment in Murrieta for women with insomnia using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). Find out more about CBT-I in this other blog post- Could CBT for Insomnia be the solution to your insomnia woes?
70-80 percent of individuals who undergo CBT-I treatment for insomnia experience vast improvement in their sleep. For women within California who are too far away from the Murrieta, Temecula or Menifee areas, I provide CBT for insomnia treatment online. CBT-I is a 5 to 8 week treatment for people who struggle with insomnia. It's the first line insomnia treatment in the USA and it is highly recommended by sleep researchers and experts.
Click here to schedule your free 15 minute consultation call so that insomnia can be a thing of the past.
Remember, if you are within California, but you are not in the Murrieta/Temecula area, I also provide CBT for insomnia treatment online.
ready to FINALLY sleep?
Find out the 5 myths about insomnia that keep you awake- and how YOU can FINALLY sleep!
