You have not selected any thoughts.
Instead of: I’m wide awake. I’ll never be able to fall back to sleep!
Try:
- It may take some time to get back to sleep, but eventually I will.
- If I get out of bed and do something relaxing, I will start to feel sleepy before too long.
- It’s normal to feel alert if I wake up during a dream; I’ll feel drowsy soon.
Instead of: I will not be able to function tomorrow.
Try:
- Most of the time, I do a good job at work, even if I didn’t sleep well.
- Since I just got a promotion, I must be doing a good-enough job.
- I may not feel my best, but I will be able to get the important tasks done.
Instead of: I must get eight hours of sleep.
Try:
- People vary in how much sleep they need. Not everyone needs 8 hours.
- I’m working towards improving the quality of my sleep right now. It will take time to improve the amount of time I sleep.
Instead of: I slept very little or not at all last night.
Try:
- I didn’t sleep as much as I wanted last night, but I did get some sleep.
- I wish I had slept longer last night, but I’ll probably sleep better tonight.
Instead of: I cannot fall asleep without a sleeping pill.
Try:
- It took me a long time to learn to sleep poorly. It will take some time to unlearn poor sleep as well.
- This approach works for most people with insomnia, so it will work for me too.
Instead of: I will never learn to sleep better.
Try:
- Most cases of insomnia are due to learned thoughts and behaviors, not mental health problems.
- Insomnia is very common. It affects more than half of Veterans.
