Do you have a hard time staying asleep at night? You’re not alone.
According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Americans are not getting enough sleep. Over a third of the nation is sleeping less than seven hours on a regular basis, and ten percent of the population has chronic insomnia. The CDC also warns that a lack of sleep can put you at risk for high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke and heart disease.
So what do scientists recommend for a long, uninterrupted night? Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (C.B.T.-I) may be the answer.
C.B.T.-I challenges the way you look at sleep by focusing on positive thinking and a uniform bedtime routine. A typical program recommends:
- Getting in and out of bed everyday at the same time.
- Not sleeping in. Those extra four hours in bed on the weekend can mess with your body’s sleep rhythm.
- Using a sleep log. This helps clinicians catch bad habits hindering your sleep.
- Thinking positively. Negative thoughts in bed can become their own self-fulfilling prophecies.