Do you lose sleep over losing sleep? Does your mind race about work, family, a new idea, anything, everything, when it is time to turn out the lights?  Do you experience a heighted sense of arousal or physical tension when you get into bed?  Do you frequently sleep better away from home? Do you worry about not being able to sleep? 

If you answered yes to any of the above and you feel that your sleep is not refreshing, then you may have what sleep specialists term Psychophysiological Insomnia.  Now before you say to yourself, “Hey, doc, I am not crazy”, that is not what this ten dollar term means.  It refers an increased level of arousal associated with attempts to sleep in the bedroom. It frequently results from a learned inability to sleep that is characterized primarily by the symptoms referenced in the opening paragraph. 

For you non-psychologists, this learned inability to sleep is a type of classical conditioning. In classical conditioning a person associates one thing, the stimulus, with a second unrelated thing, the response.  In classical conditioning the response is not voluntary, but the association of the stimulus and response is learned.  The thinking is that patients with Psychophysiological Insomnia have “learned” that they cannot sleep in the bed.

Unlearning this association is simple, but does require some commitment on the part of the patient.  Commonly used is a technique called Stimulus Control Therapy, one of a number of different Cognitive Behavior Therapies employed by sleep specialist.  Behavioral therapies involve time and commitment, but are generally effective for many types of chronic insomnia, which often have a component of psychophysiological arousal as an ongoing factor.

Good sleep promotes good health.

P. Terrence Moore, M.D.

4 Better Sleep Centers
Wake Up to Life Again

8722 Greenville Ave #102
Dallas, Texas 75243
214-466-7222
www.4bettersleep.com