If you see the hours go by and you get nervous when you see that the time to "wake up" is approaching, you have probably tried many techniques to fall asleep.
What are the benefits of psychological therapy?
Psychological therapy for insomnia seeks to change maladaptive sleep habits, reduce the activation of your Autonomous Nervous System (ANS) and modify dysfunctional beliefs that can exacerbate insomnia. These treatments produce long-lasting benefits, without the iatrogenic effects of medications (such as tolerance, residual sedation, and rebound insomnia after discontinuation).
What techniques are applied in the treatment of insomnia?
Stimulus control. The objective is to associate the bed and the bedroom with sleep, and break associations with other distracting stimuli (food, books, cell phone, computer, etc.).
Sleep restriction. In reality, we are referring to increasing sleep efficiency (the ratio of time asleep to time spent in bed), since people with insomnia tend to lengthen their stay in bed by going to bed earlier or getting up later.
Relaxation techniques. Useful to reduce muscular and cognitive tension (looped thoughts). Some of them are:
Progressive muscle relaxation (Jacobson). It is based on tensing and relaxing different muscle groups, then moving on to cognitive control of them.
Abdominal breathing.
Guided image viewing. Training in mental visualization consists of concentrating on pleasant or neutral thoughts.
Autogenic training. In the first phase, a series of sensations are worked on (weight, heat, cardiac regulation, breathing, abdominal heat and sensation of coolness on the forehead). In the second phase, imaginary productions (dreams) are taken into account.
Cognitive techniques. Maladaptive beliefs, unrealistic sleep expectations, misconceptions about the causes of insomnia and overestimation of the consequences of not being able to sleep are worked on.
If you want to delve deeper into these techniques and obtain a restful sleep, do not hesitate to book a consultation to evaluate your case and guide you. Lack of sleep or "inefficient sleep" is one of the most disabling causes. You will notice how your quality of life increases and you will have a better mood.
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