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Chapter 4: Problem 32

One of the recommendations that therapists will make to people who suffer from insomnia is to spend less waking time in bed. Why do you think spending waking time in bed might interfere with the ability to fall asleep later?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Spending a significant amount of time awake in bed potentially alters the brain's sleep-wake associations and may lead to the bed being associated with being awake. This, in turn, could prolong Sleep Onset Latency and disturb sleep hygiene, thereby exacerbating insomnia. Essentially, it may condition the mind and reinforce sleeplessness.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding the concept of Sleep Association

Sleep association is a psychological process that indicates the brain's linking of certain routines, environments or behaviors with sleep. Spending considerable waking time in bed could lead to the brain associating this setting with other activities rather than sleep.
02

Impact on Sleep Onset Latency (SOL)

Increased waking time in bed may lead to prolonged Sleep Onset Latency - the time it takes to transition from being fully awake to falling asleep. If the bed is associated with being awake, this may delay the onset of sleep when one has already decided to go to sleep.
03

Interference with Sleep Hygiene

Sleep hygiene refers to the recommendation for promoting restful sleep and daytime alertness. It includes several practices one of which is to associate the bed with sleep and intimacy only. If one spends a lot of awake time in bed, it contradicts this part of sleep hygiene thus making it harder to fall asleep.
04

Conditioning and Reinforcing Sleeplessness

If a person stays awake in bed for extended periods, his/her body may start to associate getting into bed with being awake, thereby strengthening insomnia. This is essentially reinforcing a form of sleeplessness conditioning.

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