How to Get Better Sleep
Orlando Therapist Shares: How to get Better Sleep
Do you struggle with sleep? Does your to-do list keep you up at night? Do you have a hard time falling asleep? Or do you wake up mid-night and start thinking about all the things you need to do?
If this sounds like you, you are like the other 70 million Americans that struggle with sleep difficulties.
As a trauma and anxiety therapist in Orlando, more than half of my clients struggle with sleep problems. A few restless nights here and there are easy enough to deal with, however ongoing sleep issues can wreak havoc on overall wellbeing.
It’s important to have a little understanding of how the autonomic nervous system plays a role in getting a good night’s sleep. Essentially there are two branches of the autonomic nervous system, the sympathetic and the parasympathetic.
The sympathetic is responsible for giving the system energy. I like to call this branch the gas pedal.
The parasympathetic helps to down-regulate the system and bring energy levels down. This branch, I call the brake pedal.
For example, let’s say you have a presentation in about an hour. The sympathetic branch (the gas pedal), fills your body with energy-inducing hormones so that you can focus and present. After the presentation, you go outside and take several deep breaths, and your parasympathetic (brake pedal) kicks in to help your body come back to equilibrium.
And how all of this relates to sleep is really quite simple. Avoid doing any gas pedal activities at least one hour before going to bed. Proactively engage in brake pedal activities in the last hour before you hit the hay.
In working with clients, we identify the individual gas pedal activities they should avoid and determine the brake pedal activities they enjoy and are likely to do before going to bed.
Gas Pedal Activities:
Working on projects
Scrolling through social media
Watch intense movies
Talking about finances
Having stressful conversations
Drinking caffeinated beverages
Brake Pedal Activities:
Cuddling with a pet
Taking a warm bath
Reading a mindfulness book
Listening to a guided meditation
Having sex or masturbating
Lighting candles
Listening to a soothing audiobook
Watching ASMR videos
Receiving a massage
Practicing Yen yoga
Playing soothing music
Coloring in an adult coloring book
For folks who find it difficult to switch from gas pedal activities to brake pedal activities (uh hum, me), I like to find ways to help them make that transition. Personally, as a business owner and mompreneur, I use these practices to help my brain transition from multitasking and momming to preparing for some sweet dreams.
Create an Imaginary Container
For me, I have an imaginary lockbox. At the end of the day, I visualize sending all of my unfinished tasks into the container. I remind myself that I don’t need to continue working on them or thinking about them. These tasks will be there tomorrow for me to pursue when I am feeling fresh. If you need a little help with this container, you can listen to this guided practice.
Practice Emotional Freedom Technique
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is useful in accepting whatever we are feeling at the time and offering ourselves unconditional acceptance. Because this tool uses tapping on acupressure points on the body, it helps to down-regulate the nervous system. EFT provides a way to move toward difficult emotions so we aren’t avoiding them. Often, when we don't address difficult emotions, they can bubble up in the night and can cause restless or disrupted sleep. EFT provides a way to acknowledge and accept difficult emotions, which allows them to move through rather than get stuck and fester.
For basic information on EFT, check out this link. For an EFT guided practice specifically for sleep, check this out.
Start a Brain Dump
This is a helpful practice when I get a spike of creative energy when I am trying to downshift into sleepy mode. I don’t want to forget any creative ideas, but I also don’t want to engage in creative endeavors as I am unwinding and preparing for sleep.
For me, creative projects are a gas pedal activity because my brain starts churning out all kinds of ideas. A brain dump is a way that I can offload good ideas by writing them down and keeping them in a safe place. This allows my brain to stop working because I know that I can come back to these ideas when I am in the right headspace to work on them.
Being intentional about what you do with your wind-down time is a simple lifestyle change that can make a huge impact on the quality of your Z’s.
Therapy Orlando
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Additional Sleep Resources
21 Relaxing Activities to Help you get to Sleep
Can't Sleep? 45 Sleep Hacks to Help You Get Your Zzz's.
About the Author
Orlando Therapist, Lauran Hahn, LMHC, specializes in working with clients that are struggling with anxiety and trauma. She also helps clients heal from and stop getting into toxic relationships. Lauran has a Certified Sensorimotor Psychotherapist as well as a Certified EMDR Therapist and EMDRIA Approved Consultant. She helps people feel calm in their body, at peace their mind and connected in relationships.
Mindful Living Counseling Orlando is a trauma healing center. Our Orlando Therapy Services include anxiety therapy, trauma counseling, EMDR therapy, eating disorder recovery, teen counseling, and healing from toxic relationships. At Mindful Living Counseling Orlando, we use a down-to-earth approach infused with cutting-edge therapies that go beyond traditional talk therapy so clients can heal at the root level and experience lasting change. Feel free to access one of our Guided Meditations to help you feel settled and calm now.