Watching the clock while trying to fall asleep exacerbates insomnia and the use of sleep aids, new research shows.
A small change, however, could help you sleep better, the researchers report.
Insomnia affects between 4 and 22% of adults and is associated with long-term health problems including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and depression.
The new study in Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders focuses on a sample of nearly 5,000 patients presenting for care at a sleep clinic.
Participants completed questionnaires about the severity of their insomnia, their use of sleep medication, and the time they spent monitoring their own behavior while trying to fall asleep. They were also asked to report any psychiatric diagnoses. The researchers conducted mediation analyses to determine how the factors influenced each other.
“We found time monitoring behavior mainly has an effect on sleep medication use because it exacerbates insomnia symptoms,” says Spencer Dawson, clinical assistant professor and associate director of clinical training in the psychological and brain sciences department at Indiana University.
“People are concerned that they’re not getting enough sleep, then they start estimating how long it will take them to fall back asleep and when they have to be up. That is not the sort of activity that’s helpful in facilitating the ability to fall asleep—the more stressed out you are, the harder time you’re going to have falling asleep.”
As the frustration over sleeplessness grows, people are more likely to use sleep aids in an attempt to gain control over their sleep.
The research indicates a simple behavioral intervention could provide help for those struggling with insomnia, Dawson says. He gives the same advice to every new patient the first time they meet.
“One thing that people could do would be to turn around or cover up their clock, ditch the smart watch, get the phone away so they’re simply not checking the time,” Dawson says. “There’s not any place where watching the clock is particularly helpful.”
Additional coauthors are from the Mercer University School of Medicine, the University of Arizona, and Brown University.
Source: Indiana University
