Coaching practices for Dysfunctional Beliefs About Sleep

Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Dysfunctional Beliefs About Sleep, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.

Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?

• The second I’m not asleep by a certain hour my mind starts screaming that tomorrow is ruined, that I have to get my eight hours or I’ll fall apart
• It’s 2am and the clock has become a countdown
• I keep trying the obvious fixes
• By bedtime I’m already dreading another bad night, and the harder I try to force myself to sleep
• I’ve read the scary headlines about what poor sleep does to me and now I lie there panicking about my sleep score, which is obviously making it worse

Practices that may help

1. Challenge the beliefs that make insomnia self-perpetuating
   Identify and revise the catastrophic beliefs about sleep that amplify arousal at bedtime.
   Sleep Restriction Therapy
2. Challenge catastrophic thoughts about sleep
   Identify and test the beliefs that turn a bad night into a disaster story.
   CBT for Insomnia (CBT-I), Made Practical
3. Learn the two-process model of sleep
   Understanding how sleep pressure and the circadian clock interact removes the mystery from why sleep is unpredictable.
   CBT for Insomnia (CBT-I), Made Practical
4. Break the anxiety-about-sleep loop
   Interrupt the cycle where worrying about not sleeping becomes the main reason you can not sleep.
   Stimulus Control for Sleep
5. Separate the science from the overstatement
   Keep the reliable sleep practices; hold the scariest popular claims loosely.
   Why We Sleep, Translated Into Practice
6. Use the two-process model to diagnose your specific sleep problem
   Identify whether your sleep issue is a Process S problem, a Process C problem, or both — because the fixes are different.
   The Two-Process Model of Sleep
7. Use the bed only for sleep (and sex)
   Reserve the bed strictly so the brain learns to associate it with sleepiness, not wakefulness.
   Stimulus Control for Sleep
8. Use sleep hygiene as the foundation, not the cure
   Get the basics right (light, caffeine, temperature, schedule) but do not expect them alone to fix insomnia.
   CBT for Insomnia (CBT-I), Made Practical
9. Value deep NREM (slow-wave) sleep
   Front-load and protect deep sleep, the most physically restorative stage.
   Why We Sleep, Translated Into Practice
10. Apply stimulus control to the sleep environment
    Use the bed only for sleep and sex — no other stimulation — so your body learns that bed means sleep.
    Stimulus Control, Made Practical

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