george's random thoughts

There are many ways to treat insomnia, such as have a regular schedule, regular exercise, avoid coffeince, progressive relaxation techniques, yoga, Tai Chi, meditation, etc... They are all very helpul. However, one thing I found very helpful and never seen anywhere is the fear factor and how to overcome it.

I think the most common factor that cause sleep disorder is psychological factor. That is we have trouble sleeping when we are afraid of not being able to fall asleep. Fear is caused by irrationalities. With reason, most fears can be removed.

step 1:
What is the worst result of staying up all night? Has this happened to you before? For how many times? Yes, productivity will be lower. But you should be just fine the next day. What about having two consecutive nights without sleep? That chance is pretty low and your body and mind will be so tired and you will be "day sleeping". The bottom line is that you have no chance of dying for lack of sleep!!!

step 2:
Dont try to sleep, just relax. You can not actively or voluntarily go to sleep yourself. You can only relax, create the condition so that your mind slows down and and sleep comes to you.

"Damn! I stayed in bed for 50 minutes and still awake! I am so frustrated and am afraid I have to stay up all night" At this time, you are becoming irrational. You may need to sit up or even stand up and walk a little bit. "If I cannot sleep, what can I do?" All you can do is to relax, maybe by imaging it is raining outside, or counting your breath (1 in, 1 out, 2 in , 2 out...), or whatever your favorites.

"I relaxed, and stil awake!" Too bad, you did your part. If you mind does not want to sleep, there is nothing else you can do. All you can do is continue what you can do: relax.

Remeber, this is just a tip. It cannot subsitute physical exercise, yoga, and all the other good stuffs.