I work with sleep. I’m not a therapist, but I do work with them every day and meet people with sleep issues frequently in my line of work.
No one’s sleep need is the same as anyone else’s so there’s no single fix that works for all. But essentially, if you learn your body rhythm, then you can do what’s possible in your life situation to adapt your exposure to light, exercise, food and maybe most importantly, find ways to dampen your fight and flight system. When you brain’s wired up, your body literally doesn’t think it’s time to sleep and you’ll stay awake whether you like it or not.
Screens and their light are not inherently bad for sleep. The amount of lux from them make no difference. It’s what you do with them that matters, and not uncommonly a cause that you’re in stress mode. But the level of light itself is not the main concern.
This is my main task. The reptile brain is really good at this and its so hard to go against it. I tried to do a body scan the other night and that was amazing, even if my brain is all over the place
My stress level is very high at day when I am at work. But I don’t have a stressful job. But I put stress on myself because I want to do a good job. And I have a high stress level in general right now so it doesn’t need much to trigger my stress.
I guess meditation/yoga and body scans can dampen my arousal system. What else can I do?
I have tried Yoga, meditation and body scans and know that they really work, but often I don’t let myself do it. But body scans are so easy to do so I will start with that!
Exercise literally drains you from stress. Walks are fine but a good run or similar, washes stress away. If you work your body, there’s less room for stress.
Meditation, body scans and breathing require regularity. Practice every day if you can. But if you do, your brain rewires itself in time and your brain’s signal system is less likely to react to your stress triggers.
Okay, this is really interesting! I have done the exact opposite. It feels like I need to rest in front of the tv or something in the sofa because of all the stress I have. Letting my brain get some rest.
But what you are saying can change a lot of my situation. I will give it a try.
Does exercise also affect anxiety in the same way?