Is Sleep Restriction Effective for Insomnia Treatment?

Do you spend your nights tossing and turning in a fevered effort to get some sleep? Insomnia isnt a pleasant experience and can leave you feeling emotionally and physically drained. Although a variety of approaches can be taken to bring about healthier sleep patterns, not all of them work. It can take a great deal of time and experimentation to come up with a solution for this frustrating problem. One approach that has shown some benefit in studies is the use of sleep restriction, a process where you limit sleep in order to establish new sleep behaviors.

What is sleep restriction therapy and how does it help insomnia?

Sleep restriction therapy teaches you to limit sleep and the time spent in bed until you can retrain your body to sleep more efficiently. Is this approach effective for insomnia? A study published in the Journal of Gerontology compared the use of sleep restriction therapy and the use of relaxation therapy to see which was more effective for promoting long-term healthier sleep patterns. The results? The people who were in the sleep restriction group who were asked to limit sleep experienced greater improvement than those undergoing relaxation therapy for insomnia.

How is sleep restriction therapy carried out?

Basically, you limit sleep to a set number of hours, starting at around five hours per night. You would set your alarm for the same time each morning after allowing yourself five hours of sleep for the night. If youre unable to sleep once you get into bed, you would get out of bed and do another activity until you feel capable of sleeping again. The same would apply if you woke up in the middle of the night. Regardless of how much sleep youve had you would get out of bed when the alarm goes off five hours later.

How long do you limit sleep with this technique?

Once youre able to sleep the full five hours, you would add additional time at fifteen minute intervals weekly as long as you continue to sleep throughout the night until youre getting a full nights sleep. By doing this you would reduce inefficient sleep behaviors such as tossing and turning and train your body to adapt to a set sleep schedule. To increase the chance for success, no naps would be allowed during the day. The whole purpose is to teach yourself to sleep again and eliminate wasted time spent in bed.

Is this really effective for insomnia?

This method does appear to be effective for insomnia, although it may not work for everyone. Before choosing to limit sleep on your own, talk to your doctor about using this technique. Youll likely experience mild symptoms of sleep deprivation at first so youll need to be in good health otherwise. This effective technique for treating insomnia may be just what the doctor ordered.