18: BUFFER PERIOD PRIOR TO SLEEP

This is one of the options in Step D1 (Section 44 and Section 45), for falling asleep and Step D2 (Section 47) for waking too early.

This may be especially valuable if the regular day is stressful or very active. Making the transition to sleep may involve having a period of time – a half hour to two hours – in which to relax, do some activity that is intrinsically unstimulating, boring, relaxing, etc.  (Glovinsky and Spielman, 149-151; Hauri and Linde, 81-83). For some suggestions, see Relaxation, Section 24.

18a. Diagnosing the Problem

It may take a person a long time to fall asleep because he/she is still physically or emotionally wound up from daily activities. Some people push themselves until bedtime and are still going when they think it’s time to sleep.

You can ask what happens in the hour or two before bedtime, and see whether that period is too stimulating. For people who can, keeping a record for a week can be helpful:

  • What did you do in the hour before bed?
  • What were you thinking?

18b. Winding Down

Having the person keep track of the period of time immediately prior to bed can give some information about this. If there is no buffer period, have the person experiment with putting one in place – a time filled with non-daily activity or distraction.

The point is to stop thinking of issues that require attention or doing activities that involve energy expenditure, or are stimulating, exciting, or frightening (McKenna, 85-87; Glovinsky and Spielman, 149-151). The person should be distracted from daily life.

Let the person decide how to wind down. Ask

  • What could you do at the end of the day, to relax and get away from it all?
  • How could you arrange to do that?

Some possibilities include

  • Reading, especially on a topic that is not related to work or personal growth. A novel or magazine, preferably not too stimulating.
  • Listening to music works for some people. It may depend on the kind of music.
  • Binaural beats – a form of meditation – may be helpful for some people
  • A pre-bed yoga practice can calm the mind and divert thinking.
  • Meditation recordings

This time period should probably not include

  • Exciting television – it is too stimulating and engaging.
  • Internet – also too engaging.
  • Pursuing disagreements with a spouse or political discussions with anyone.

18c. More detail

Binaural beats can be found at https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=binaural%20beats%20youtube