This Trick Could Help You Sleep Better, Be More Productive, and Work Out!
by Sueños on 05/08/17
Different stimuli are constantly competing for our attention. Notifications from Facebook, text messages from that special someone, T.V. conversations in the background, sometimes it can be hard not to sit glued to our phones scrolling through funny pictures. However, this can seriously eat into our time that we should be spending getting in shaping, getting rest, or focusing on that little extra bit of work we had to take home. Fear no more, because there's a trick to help you with all of this!
This trick comes from the work on stimulus control, and involves allowing a specific environment( or set of stimuli)to become associated with a specific behavior. The best example is usually falling asleep. I used to do everything in bed! Read, work, catch up on e-mails, however, doing all of this could be seriously getting in the way of you falling asleep. What stimulus control therapy aims to do, is have your body only associate your bed with falling asleep. This is done by following these simple rules, turn off all electronics(yes even your phone), only go to bed if you're tired, get out of bed if you lay awake for longer than 15-min. Continue this procedure until you fall asleep. The first few nights, you will notice that you aren't sleeping as well, but research has shown this to be an effective treatment for even severe insomnia.
However, perhaps even more exciting, the treatment is effective for all sorts of behaviors. It's been applied to studying and exercise with great success! In these scenarios pick a room that you will only work out, study, or do some extra work in, at a specific time each day. Persist with the activity as long as you can, the second you feel an impulse to do something else, leave the room. As you continue this procedure, you will notice yourself being able to focus on your behavior much easier and for a longer period of time.
I hope this adds a little trick to your tool box! If you think your friend could use a little stimulus control in their life, be sure to share!
This is a guest blog by one of our coaches Diego-Andreas. If you like this post, and want to see more like it, check out his blog at www.wonderingintomyself.com
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