Plenty of research exists that shows if we don’t get enough quality sleep, our health will suffer. This is true even if with the right diet, fitness routines, and low amounts of stress in our lives.
Dr. Rubin Naiman is a psychologist, author, and noted sleep specialist. He describes “cognitive popcorn” as one of the most common causes of insomnia: “Cognitive popcorn is something that occurs when you put your head down, trying to go to sleep or trying to get back to sleep in the middle of the night, and suddenly your mind starts to produce all of these thoughts. They’re unwanted thoughts, uncontrollable thoughts. It’s as if the mind has a mind of its own. That’s a very common complaint that keeps people awake.” How many of us can relate to this phenomenon?
According to Dr. Naiman, we need to be able to rest to sleep well, and most people simply don’t know how – they mostly substitute one activity for another and call it rest. It’s important to find opportunities to rest during the day. Many people “knock themselves out” with drugs, only to find that this solution does not in fact lead to the deep, necessary sleep that’s needed. He also explains the difference between fatigue and sleepiness in this short video:
