Improve falling asleep and staying asleep

The general rule is

Only going to bed when you feel tired (called sleep pressure) improves falling asleep and sleeping through the night.

• only go to bed when you feel tired (called sleep pressure),
• no activities in bed that promote wakefulness in order to get tired (cell phone, reading, TV or laptop),
• if you cannot fall asleep after about 20 minutes, get out of bed,
• pursue a pleasant activity in another room (reading, music, TV),
• only go back to bed when you feel tired (sleep pressure),
• if you are unable to fall asleep again after about 20 minutes, get out of bed again,
• only go back to bed when you feel tired (sleep pressure) and so on,
• do not look at the alarm clock during the night so as not to build up pressure of expectation,
• get up at the same time every morning regardless of how long you have slept (set an alarm clock),
• to increase the pressure to sleep in the evening, it makes sense not to sleep during the day. Not even if you feel tired.

Important note

Sleep disorders should not be the result of the consumption of caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, psychoactive substances or organic sleep disorders.

Please note

Using the method can initially lead to considerable daytime tiredness. This can have a negative effect on your ability to concentrate during the day.

He had been able to fall asleep quickly, but after two hours the night was over for him. Thoughts of work and family problems came to mind. He noticed that he began to think about these problems, which led to inner restlessness and increasing alertness.

He got up and went into the next room, where he watched an interesting movie. He deliberately sat down on a chair and not on the sofa. He would feel the tiredness (sleep pressure) better on the hard chair. After a while, he could have fallen asleep on the chair and moved back into the bedroom. As soon as he lay down, his thoughts returned. After about 20 minutes, he moved to the other room again and finished watching the movie. The tiredness was clearly noticeable again. He went to bed and fell asleep immediately this time. When the alarm clock rang, he hadn’t slept much and wasn’t fully rested. He comforted himself with the thought that even after a bad night’s sleep, he could still achieve a lot. He decided to forgo his midday nap so that he would be sufficiently tired in the evening.

She had gotten into the habit of working on her laptop while lying in bed in order to get tired. What didn’t occur to her was the psychological fact that concentrated work on the laptop associated wakefulness with a place (bed) that should actually be associated with tiredness and sleep.

Without further ado, she took the laptop into the study and completed tasks until she felt clearly tired. She then went back to bed and, in terms of learning psychology, connected the tiredness with the place (bed) where the tiredness belonged. She spent two nights repeatedly lying down and getting up. But it was worth it to her. She was confident that she would soon be able to fall asleep and sleep through the night better.

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Hertenstein, E., Nissen, C. & Riemann, D. (2017). Insomnie. In Brakemeier, E.-L. & Jacobi, F. (Hrsg.). Verhaltenstherapie in der Praxis (S. 586-594). Weinheim: Beltz

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