Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/251527
26 BRAVA MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2014 THRIVE WELLBEING IT'S BAD ENOUGH when you spend a night staring at the ceiling and feeling frustrated, rather than getting a heavenly dose of shut-eye. But what's worse is when you drag yourself through the next day, not only tired, but feeling anxious about crawling back into bed—the scene of the crime— all over again that night. "[Sleep anxiety] is very common," ex- plains Dr. Paul Greblo, psychologist at Dean and St. Mary's Sleep Center. "So, many either engage in poor sleep behav- IORS OR BEGIN TˬKINGMEDICˬTION ŀ EN they're dependent on that and feel that their ability to sleep is only going to be as good as that medication or that thing that they do." But, local experts say there are ways to break the cycle of insomnia and the sleep anxiety it brings, and offer a sweet lul- laby of tips to help you hit the hay with CONǠDENCE DURING THE DAY: WRITE IT OUT A simple (but often avoided) place to start? Acknowledging that you're strug- gling. "Sometimes we can get really anxious about something and not even know we're anxious about it," explains Dr. Meredith Rumble, psychologist for Wis- consin Sleep and UW Department of Psychiatry. "So, sometimes we're not sleeping well and we're worrying about it without being aware of how much it's contributing." After recognizing your sleep anxiety, Rumble suggests writing down the nega- tive thoughts that plague you at night THE OFF SWITCH WHEN SLEEP ANXIETY MAKES YOU YOUR OWN WORST ENEMY BY LESLIE JERNEGAN "Some people write 'I'm going to have a horrible day tomorrow, and then I could lose my job, and then what am I going to do?'" she says. From there, rationalize your worries to help keep them in perspective. "When you think of a way to talk to yourself you start to notice that thought pattern in your head, and then you can avoid going to the extreme of losing your JOBoSˬYS3UMBLEnŀ EREmSNOONOFF switch for those thoughts, but there's a way to notice them and work with them to combat that worry." PRE-SLUMBER: WIND IT DOWN It seems counterintuitive that we can be busy all day and then, once exhausted, still unable to fall asleep. "I see a lot of people who, from the minute they're up to the minute they're in bed, they're go-go-go," explains Gre- blo, "and then they go to bed, it's dark ˬNDQUIETˬNDTHˬTmSTHEǠRSTTIMEˬLL day they've really been alone with their thoughts." To combat the uncomfortable silence of BEDTIMEBUILDINWINDDOWNTIMEŀ IS INCLUDESNOSIGNIǠCˬNTTIMEWITHYOUR computer, TV or work, and instead, en- gaging in something easy and relaxing on the mind, like reading. If you have a lot on your mind, Greblo recommends using this relaxation time to think about what's happened, and what's in store for the next day. nŀ EWORRYTIMESHOULDBEHˬPPEN ing much earlier in the evening before you're going to bed," he says. So, ponder your day at 8 p.m., not at your 10 p.m. bedtime when you should be easing into sleep. Continued on p. 28. "WE'RE WORRYING ABOUT IT WITHOUT BEING AWARE OF HOW MUCH IT'S CONTRIBUTING." DR. MEREDITH RUMBLE