Hey Hey Insomnia! You're Awesome (said no one ever)

 Shhhhhhhhh I'm fake sleeping here!

                     

Waking up 2 hrs before your alarm goes off is at minimum mildly frustrating. You experience the inevitable "might as well get up" followed by a few expletives. Next comes the following cognitive reframe "hey! at least I'll have extra time this morning to look hot!" or "work out!" or ?? Followed by the realization that I'm going to work and not a night out and heck no a workout isn't happening. Funny enough, my day job largely consists of treating insomnia from a non-pharmacological perspective. So while I'm up and at em, here's a few tips.

What to DO and NOT to DO to get better sleep:

• Catch up on sleep yo! Let me get that nap in! Let me go to bed extra early tonight. I then wonder "why can't I get to sleep" or "why the heck did I wake up so much last night??" Yep, catching up on sleep is counterproductive. Stay sleepy and go to bed per usual. You'll fall asleep faster and likely get a kick ass night's sleep. 
• Not sticking to a schedule. Ok, everyone raise your hand if you have problems sleeping Sunday night after Day Light Savings Time. Anyone anyone? Bueller? If you haven't, well you certainly know people that do and there's a reason for that. Sleep is one of those things that runs along a 24 hr clock (circadian rhythm anyone?). Deviating from your schedule even a little bit works against you.
• Giving yourself too much time to sleep. I see sleep diaries galore that reflect a lot of time spent in bed not sleeping. I see a lot of folks giving themselves 8, 9, 10 hours to try to sleep. If you're not filling up that time with sleep, wtf are you doing? Dudes, stay up later, wake up earlier...whatever works for you, but dayum get yo butt outta bed!
• Oh and btw not everyone needs 8 hours.

What if your sleep problems are severe? Talk with your doc. He or she may want to rule out something called sleep apnea (google it). If you're suffering from plain old insomnia, I'd recommend cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia. It's more than just sleep hygiene and people like me do a hell of a job delivering it. I should also mention it's supported by research too.

Now let's get it poppin! Because you haven't heard it enough: