Sleep Problems

Sleep is essential for everyone, it allows the body and mind to relax, heal, recharging energy levels to enable effective physical and mental functioning. On average adults need approximately 8 hours sleep per night although this varies for each individual. Problems with sleeping can include:

• Difficulty falling to sleep
• Waking in the night (sometimes because of dreams or nightmares)
• Waking too early
• Waking feeling un-refreshed

The following list of comments are often made by people who suffer from different kinds of sleep problems:

“I just lay there and toss and turn for hours on end. No matter what I do, I just can’t seem to be able to sleep”.

“I become restless through the night; waking and not being able to get back to sleep”.

“I wake up two or three hours before I need to get up, and just lie there trying to drop back off to sleep”.

Sleep problems are very common and are often referred to as insomnia. One study in America found that only 5% of adults reported never having trouble sleeping.

Understanding sleep

A recent study found that as many as 30 percent of adults are affected by sleep problems. Sleep difficulties are common in women, children and the over 65s. Therefore, it is very common sleep problems at some point is your life.

People can become very distressed when they feel they are not getting a good night's sleep, which can make it harder to get off to sleep.

How much sleep do we need?

What is a normal amount of sleep and how much sleep do we need?

The answer is not simple or that straight forward. The amount of sleep a person needs will vary. There is a common belief that we all need 7 to 8 hours sleep every night. This is not true.

Studies show that people sleep needs range from 4 to 10 hours or more each night. And needs of sleep will vary throughout their life e.g. newborn babies spend 16-17 hours sleeping per day. As we reach our thirties we may require less than 8 hours sleep, typically this amount of sleep becomes less and less with time. People in their seventies require less than 6 hours sleep.

Age affects the amount of sleep needed, and so does our level of physical and mental activity. If you are less active, then you will require less sleep. Therefore, if you are constantly busy and active, then you will require more sleep.

Not only do we need less sleep and sleep becomes lighter and more broken as we get older, but our pattern of when we sleep often changes too. It becomes more likely that we drop off to sleep during the day, so our natural rhythm of sleep can be disturbed.

Causes sleep problems?

There are a number of reasons why sleep problems can develop. See list below and click on them for further help:

• Normal effects of ageing including
• Medical reasons
• Depression and low mood
• Stress or anxiety
• Environmental surroundings
• Bereavement or loss
• Money worries
• Redundancy

In summary

Sleep problems are very common and affect people in different ways. There is no “right” amount of sleep as this varies between people and across the lifespan. Sleep problems can occur for a number of reasons: as a result of age; medical reasons; emotional reasons; unhelpful surroundings; disrupted sleep routines. There are different sorts of sleep problem. It is also possible to think you have a sleep problem when in fact you are still getting enough sleep but it is different from what you expect.

Help with Sleep Problems

Self-help

One of your first steps to overcoming sleep difficulties is to check out if there any possible causes and to look for solutions.

It is always worth considering if sleeping your main problem, ask yourself if there is another problem which may be causing you to have difficulty sleeping?
 

If you are not sleeping and you are not aware of any problems, one of the first things to consider is to check whether any medicines you are taking may be affecting your sleep.

Here's a few ideas about what to avoid if you think that you are not getting enough sleep:

• Avoid worrying about not getting enough sleep
• Avoid lying in bed worrying about other problems
• Avoid using your bed for non-relaxing activities e.g. working on laptop for work
• Avoid eating or drinking caffeine close to bedtime, and cut down during the day
• Avoid smoking close to bedtime.
• Avoid drinking alcohol close to bedtime.
• Avoid going to bed until you feel sleepy.
• Avoid taking naps during the day.

There are a few simple rules, which can help improve your sleep. In summary, these are:
 

• Do go to bed and get up at a regular time.
• Do have a bedtime routine and wind down before bedtime.
• Do get up if you are worrying, or are not asleep after 30 minutes, and do something relaxing.
• Do exercise regularly, but not in the late evening.
• Do remember that sleep changes throughout our life cycle and that lack of sleep won’t harm us.
• Do make sure your bed and bedroom are comfortable, for example, noise, temperature, light, etc.
   

Further Help:

Counselling for sleep problems

Counselling for sleep problems can be beneficial to help you work out what are the causes for your sleep problem, and then work out what options are available as a resolution.

Further support can be given to allow you to understand how changes can be made and help can be given to break repetitive behaviours.

Your next steps are..

Click here to see our 3 step guide to start counselling and psychotherapy.

Reading Recommendations

If you would like to read more about counselling, then I recommend the following books:

TA Today

Ian Stewart, Vann Joines

£11 .99

This is a comprehensive introduction to Transactional Analysis. The book is well structured and is easily read, and covering the main areas of TA theory. A great feature of this book is the examples and exercises included.
Buy this book online now

Counselling for Toads

Robert de Board

£9.99

I love this book and many of my clients do too. This is an informative story about Toad on the road to recovery from 'depression'. Counselling for Toads provides an insight into the process counselling and psychotherapy, this book should be a companion to anyone that is having or thinking about counselling or psychotherapy.
Buy this book online now