Do you frequently find yourself feeling anxious or stressed out when it’s time to go to bed? Or do you wake up in the morning frustrated about having to start your busy day? While there are plenty of avenues for improving your sleep quality, you may also want to consider reframing the story you tell yourself about sleep.
What Emotions Come Up For You Before Bed?
When you’re getting ready for bed, what emotions or thoughts come up for you? Are you excited for bed, or do you carry the stress of the day, or are you already stressed out about not getting a good night’s sleep before even jumping into bed?
Try to identify any negative thoughts and feelings that linger before bedtime. Then practice replacing those negative feelings with positive affirmations and gratitude statements. These could include things such as being thankful that your body can rest and heal while sleeping, and acknowledging that a good night’s rest will bring clarity and focus during the day. Create a meaningful perspective that brings positivity to your bedtime.
What Emotions Come Up For You When You Wake Up?
Do you wake up feeling energized and refreshed after a good night’s sleep? Or do you wake up feeling groggy and frustrated that your body didn’t get enough rest? If it’s the latter, take some time each morning to remind yourself that this is just one day out of many days ahead where there is plenty of opportunity to reset and have a good night’s rest.
Reset Your Mindset Around Sleep
Worrying and stressing about sleep can ruin your experience of sleep. Even if you have bad sleep habits, adding stress makes it worse. It’s important to reset your mindset around sleep. Take away any self-judgment you have around going to bed and waking up. For example, if you can’t fall asleep, don’t judge yourself and get stressed out for not being able to fall asleep. Be present with your body, but don’t hate on it when it’s not serving you perfectly!
Focus on the Positive Aspects of Going to Bed and Waking Up
Many of us are telling ourselves a story when we go to sleep and when we wake up. We’ll take a lot at how we can transform these negative stories into a powerful perspective.
Examples of Negative Stories We Tell Ourselves About Sleep
At Night:
- “I can’t believe it’s so late and I’m not asleep yet. Uhhh”
- “I hope I don’t have another terrible night of sleep again.”
- “I’m not even tired yet, so I’ll keep eating snacks and watching TV until midnight.”
In the Morning:
- “I don’t want to wake up and start my day because there’s so much work I have to get done.”
- “I should have gone to bed earlier. Now I feel tired again. I don’t get why I’m so stupid.”
- “Wow, that was another bad night’s sleep. That’s just how I’ve always been.”
Now Let’s Reframe or Re-Focus the Previous Stories with a More Positive Perspective:
At Night:
- “I can’t sleep right now, but that is ok. I’ll focus on relaxing in preparation for sleep, and I’ll trust my body to fall asleep when it’s ready.”
- “Tonight I’ll set the tone to have a good night’s sleep, but if I can’t get a good night’s sleep, it’s ok because I’ll get the chance to try again tomorrow night!”
- “I’m not feeling tired right now, and that’s ok, but I will prepare my body and mind for sleep.”
In the Morning:
- “I’m glad to wake up for another day. Even though today will be hard, I look forward to taking a warm shower and eating scrambled eggs before work.”
- “I’m looking forward to having a strong cup of coffee today! I’m going to set a reminder on my phone to go to sleep earlier tonight since I stayed up late last night.”
- “I can learn about my sleep habits and improve them. I bet with some help and a little trial and error, I can become a better sleeper. I’m excited about this new journey.”
Changing our stories around sleep can be challenging but it’s definitely worth it to gain better quality rest. Make sure to be gentle with yourself if changing these stories doesn’t happen overnight; it takes time and consistent effort!
Start small by noticing any negative emotions that come up before going to bed or when waking up in the morning—and then practice replacing them with positive affirmations so that we can start telling ourselves healthier stories about sleep.