Sleep Hints for People Having Difficulty Getting to Sleep/Staying Asleep

• Don’t nap or sleep in
• Keep bed times consistent
• Develop a ‘sleep preparation’ routine
• Get up after 30 minutes if not sleeping
• Be ready to go straight to bed when feeling sleepy
• Avoid alcohol, tobacco and caffeine before bed
• Do exercise (but only up to 3 hours before bed)
• Avoid mental/emotional stimulation before bed
• Have a comfortable bed and environment
• Have a dark room
• Don’t use bed for thinking or worrying
• Practise sleep inductions (see next page)
• Relax during the day
• Where possible, reduce stressful life circumstances

Hints for people with sleep deprivation/ shift work

• If possible, get at least 5 hours sleep in one block
• Try and have one block of sleep at the same time each day
• Take extra sleep in advance
• Take naps (long and short)
• Create dark environment for daytime naps

(early morning people and people over 50 seem to have more difficulty adapting to shift work)

Hints for people with non-refreshing sleep

• If possible, get feedback on what is happening while you are sleeping
  • snoring or sleep apnea
  • breathing difficulties
  • repetitive leg movements
• Ensure a good quality sleeping environment
• Practise relaxation
• Monitor use of alcohol, drugs
• Check side-effects of medication

Hints for Snoring

• No alcohol within 5 hours of bed
• Avoid sleeping medication/sedatives
• Stop smoking
• Lose weight (if overweight)
• Sleep on your side
• Raise the head of the bed
• Improve ability to breathe through the nose

Try these sleep aids

• Light blockers (blinds, aluminium foil, eye masks)
• Exercise
• Spending some day time in daylight and time before bed in dim light
• Ear plugs
• Hypoallergenic pillows and bedding
• Good bed
• Ovaltine
• Warm milk
• Warm baths or showers
• Light eating before bed
• Breathing aids

Sleep Inductions

Start by paying attention to your breathing.. Focus on the in-breath and the out-breath.. You don’t need to force your breathing to change, but as you focus on it, you may find that gradually your breathing shifts by itself, slowing down or becoming more even. Simply focus on the ebb and flow of the breath.

You may like to count the breaths – or to repeat a relaxing word to yourself in time to the breath – such as Relax, or a relaxing phrase such as

Floating away

Completely relaxed

Slipping into

Sleep … (Repeat)

Help your body to relax by either simply focusing on different parts of the body while you repeat to yourself ‘right arm relaxing’ ‘right arm resting’ ‘right arm heavy and warm’, etc.

Sometimes you may like to assist the muscles to relax by firstly tensing the muscle for about a count of 5 and then releasing the tension while repeating a ‘relax’ message.

Help your mind to relax by using relaxing images – for example,

• imagine drifting off to sleep while lying under the shade of a tree on a warm day – imagine the sounds, the smells, the texture of the grass or blanket, the temperature etc.
• examine in your minds eye a beautiful object – eg. a flower, a well-loved possession
• using repetition-for example,
• imagine writing numbers on a blackboard and then erasing them
• imagine walking down a long staircase
• imagine tracing the lines of the Union Jack
• imagine different hues of a colour
• imagine singing a piece of music to yourself over and over