By Wendy Owen
Copyright 2005 Wendy Owen
Well in my opinion the main thing that keeps us tossing andturning at night is worrying about not going to sleep.
Sure there might be other reasons for sleeplessness; chronicpain, restless legs syndrome, partner disturbance, too muchcoffee....
But at the end of the day you're lying there worrying about howyou're going to get through the next day if you don't get tosleep *right now!*
Worry and the stress it causes, are by far the main causes ofsleeplessness, and the sad part is, the more we worry, the morewide awake we feel. But what can we do about it?
We have to empty our conscious minds of worrying and stressfulthoughts (yeah right! Easier said than done!)
Stress and worry can affect your sleep quite dramatically. Itcan be an isolated stressful incident which keeps you awake fora few nights, or the stress and worry may be chronic. Once theybecomes a habit, certain situations will then always cause youto become stressed.
Worry in particular can become a habit and like any habit, isvery difficult to break (just ask us smokers, um... ex smokersout there!) But it can be done. You have to train your mind toeither let go of a thought, or replace one thought with another.
If you suffer from insomnia, whether you're having trouble goingto sleep or staying asleep, stress could be the cause. Yoursleeping problems can then cause more stress which in turn makesit even harder to sleep. How can you stop worrying and stop thisvicious cycle?
The most important thing is to try and work out what you aretelling yourself when you are worrying about something. We talkto ourselves all the time whether we are aware of it or not.What thoughts are going through your mind that are causing yourbad feelings?
For example, you may be sitting in a traffic jam thinking, "I'mgoing to be late for work if this stupid traffic doesn't startmoving soon. Then I'll be rushing around all day trying to geteverything done! Which means I probably won't have time to buy aproper lunch and I'll have to grab something quick and greasy!Well there goes the diet ........"
Enough! Why torture yourself with this rubbish? Make it a habitto stop these thoughts as soon as they start. How? Justsubstitute them with better thoughts! Have a list of thoughtsthat make you feel good and think about them instead! This willreduce stress significantly and with practice, it will geteasier and easier.
If you're having trouble doing this, try doing in in two steps.When you catch yourself worrying, say "STOP!" Picture a big redstop sign right in front of you. Concentrate on this until itbreaks you train of worrying thoughts.
Then you can start thinking your pleasant thoughts, a movie youenjoyed, a present from your children, whatever makes you happy!
Your mind is extremely powerful - put it to work for you and notagainst you!
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