• Practice good sleep hygiene

• Try to take some exercise 3-4 hours before sleep

 

• Expose yourself to as much bright light as possible from the time you get up to mid afternoon

• From mid afternoon you should not be exposed to any bright light at all, wear sunglasses if necessary.

• Don’t try to get to sleep – sleep is a passive process, by trying hard you are actually waking your brain up.

• Sometimes it is helpful to lie down, tell yourself it doesn’t matter if you sleep or not, and try to keep your eyes open and avoid falling asleep, this is called paradoxical intention.

• If when you lie down in bed your brain wakes up and lots of things are whirring around inside it, try repeating 1 2 3 4 continuously in your head. It is very difficult to think of anything else when you do this and sometimes this can allow the brain to ‘power down’. This is called thought blocking.

• If things are worrying you make a list of them as you go to bed; they are less likely to be whirring around in your head during the night. This helps put your problems to bed.

• No napping / sleeping during the day at all – all your sleep should be in your bed and after your bed time.

• Download some relaxation exercises from the internet and practice them every night as you are in bed.