Day 5 Op. Snooze

Dealing with sleep interruptions

It's Day 5! how are you getting on? Always remember, I am here to help. Drop me a line at dave@stressedguru.com or add a comment in the box below, if you need any additional support. And don't forget - any progress is progress so allow yourself time to work at all this. It may be a hard nut to crack but sooo worth it. On with today. Becoming a Sleep Zzzen Master. There will be interruptions, distractions and obstacles to getting a good night's sleep. Here are some thoughts:

You can read the text ahead and/or dive straight in by downloading the audio tip and audio relaxation for use today and tonight - so click on the download and read no further unless you want to dig a bit deeper.

 Your Downloads for today:

Your task today:

Reflect on how you deal with obstacles to a good night's sleep. Do you find it hard to switch off? Are there times, when you feel so emotional and fraught that it is hard to unwind? Are you struggling to reduce your reliance on that alcoholic night cap? Do you find yourself tired but wired (your head is too alert to settle?). Do you get off to sleep ok, but wake up during the night and then toss and turn until 30 minutes before you are due to wake, then have the best sleep ever - for 30 minutes!

If so, then firstly, give yourself 'permission to be human.' Don't go for perfect. None of us are. Here are three suggestions to help you. Focus on one for now:

1. Remember your sleep tracker (first email sent) - go for better rather than perfect. So, for example, if you find you are managing one great night's sleep, two rubbish and the rest in the middle, aim to improve one of your rubbish night's sleep to 'ok' and add one more great night. Your aim is to see improvements in your sleep quality trend, not necessarily achieve a perfect night every night. You will feel better and better as time passes and your sleep steadily improves. You can apply this to your alcohol consumption - go for one extra night without it and build from there (unless alcohol really is a problem for you - then seek professional help, honesty it will be worth it. start here).

2. Double down on your pre-zzzed routine. If you are struggling to unwind, switch off or defuse that emotional tension, try extending your routine (even consider going to bed 15-30 minutes later - that can help with tiredness feelings too) and focus specifically on journalling (but be kind to yourself!), clearing your head and making a plan of action for specific worries (your head likes concrete plans - it's reassuring), and experiement with different guided relaxations.

3. Don't toss and turn. This can be hard to do in the middle of the night when you are desperate to go back to sleep after waking up at 2 or 3 am. Some tried and tested strategies include: Getting up after 5 minutes of lying awake, finding somewhere cool, quiet and low light to sit and wait for the 'sleep wave' to come back. Try doing a simple puzzle like a jigsaw or something requiring physical dexterity. Make notes of your thoughts if there is anything particularly bugging you. Counter-intuitively, try staying awake - Lie or sit and make an effort to keep your eyes open, focus on an object in the room or count imaginary sprouts. The effort, strangely, can cause you to snap back into sleep.

Overall, persist with it. But, if you feel at any time that you are struggling with a serious sleep problem - seek professional help. There is a lot that can be done to support the chronically sleep deprived. See your GP as a starting point.