01 Apr How to use reverse psychology to nix premenstrual insomnia
I recently spent my premenstrual week struggling with insomnia.
This isn’t a big surprise since sleep woes are common during the premenstrual phase due to plunging estrogen, which disrupts levels of sleep-regulating serotonin in the brain and makes you more sensitive to the usual sleep-robbing culprits, such as noise, light, smells and itchy pajamas.
However, this time I remembered a 2003 study in the journal Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy I’d recently come across that recommends using reverse psychology to get to sleep faster.
To do it: Once you lie down in bed, rather than try to fall asleep, aim to stay awake as long as possible.
But, you have to simply lie there–no reading, TV or other distractions. You can keep your eyes opened or closed.
In the study, insomniacs who tried this easy technique for two weeks ended up falling asleep faster than those who didn’t try it.
Why it works? As the researchers explain it, by switching your focus to trying to staying awake, you nix anxiety caused by trying to will yourself to sleep, which ends up keeping you awake longer.
Every time I tried this, it worked. Let me know if it works for you, too!
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