V0027010 Ivan Petrovitch Pavlov. Photograph after a photograph taken
Credit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images
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Ivan Petrovitch Pavlov. Photograph after a photograph taken in 1934.
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The man pictured above is Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (1849-1936) and if you are wondering why the photo of a long deceased Russian scientist is adorning this post, read on. I’ll come back to it by the end – I promise.
In my last two posts (click here and here if you haven’t read them yet), I discussed some tips for developing the correct mindset towards sleep and to lessen the anxiety about sleep that is usually at the root of insomnia. If you suffer from chronic poor sleep, it’s really worth re-reading these posts and internalizing them before going further. With that said, today I’m going to change directions and start talking about steps you can take to actually start sleeping better.
This is part two of a series on how to sleep better. In my last post, I discussed how many people who complain of poor sleep are, in fact, already better sleepers than they think. I discussed how this was important to understand for two reasons: 1) because insomnia is often a self-perpetuating anxiety issue (we don’t sleep well and then start to stress about not sleeping well, which leads to not sleeping well, which leads to more stress about not sleeping well, and so on), and 2) because research indicates that just thinking you are a poor sleeper can in and of itself lead to feeling more tired and less focused during the day. I also promised that I would soon start giving some tips on how to actually sleep better. And I will. In a coming series of blog posts. But first, I really need to hit this point about anxiety a little bit more. Because, until you learn to stop stressing about your poor sleep, it’s going to be much harder to overcome your poor sleep.
My last few posts have revolved around nutrition and weight loss – a topic about which I am very passionate. Without a doubt, nutrition and exercise are two of the most important aspects of living a long and healthy life. But there is a third major pillar of good health about which patients frequently come to me for advice: how to sleep better.
