Insomnia

A former client of mine once told his doctor that he had trouble sleeping. No surprise: The doctor gave him yet another prescription. He was already taking unneeded psychotropic drugs three times a day.

I can tell you what I could not legally tell him: This is crazy! He may become dependent on the drugs—and this will certainly contribute to his health problems.

Insomnia is a real problem, but more drugs are not the answer. This article will provide proven strategies to enable you to deal, effectively, with this issue—without drugs.

This article is divided into three parts:

• Preventing insomnia.
• Dealing with Insomnia.
• Other information.

Preventing Insomnia.

Insomnia is usually the result of conscious and subconscious thoughts that are stressful. If you're frequently thinking about negatives and problems during the day, you're programming your subconscious mind to also focus on these same kinds of things. Both conscious and subconscious thoughts result in corresponding emotions—so don't be surprised if you can't sleep at night.

We all have problems in our lives and we all have a responsibility to focus our thoughts on things that are positive and constructive.

". . . whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right . . . think about these things." {Philippians 4:8 NASB}

Recognize that negative thoughts, especially before bedtime, can be a demonic strategy to induce insomnia. Spiritual Warfare is a fact of life. This demonic strategy can effectively induce insomnia whether or not the thoughts result in a Spiritual Foothold.

Spiritual Footholds also cause anxiety that makes it impossible to fall asleep. Read the series entitled When Satan Gets a Foothold in regard to dealing with this circumstance. Use the Spiritual Foothold Checklist, at the end of the article, if necessary.

Nervous excitement can also cause insomnia. So, for example, you don't want to be playing video games too close to bedtime.

Try to resolve family conflicts so that you don't have to sleep on them. And, again, don't focus on problems or unpleasant events—especially close to bedtime.

Don't use any electronic media (computers, tablets, phones etc.) during the 30 minutes before bedtime. The light from these devices can make it harder to get to sleep.

Address noise issues: If intrusive noise is a problem, you need a strategy of dealing with this. Here are some suggestions.

One option is to purchase noise-canceling headphones or similar devices that eliminate most of the noise. Another option is to purchase a device that emits an audible sound or "white noise" that drowns out the noise. You can also use a free smart phone app that does the same thing.

For dogs barking at night, a simpler option should also be considered: Instead of getting mad, simply use this time as an opportunity to get your morning prayers done. The barking will allow you to concentrate on your prayers, while you are still lying down in bed, and when the dogs stop barking, you can go back to sleep.

Go to bed about the same time every night. It's important to make sure that you get enough sleep. If, after a while, you can't sleep, get up and use the checklist provided later in this article.

Do not think about worrisome problems in bed. This creates insomnia, and will increase the amount of stress you feel during the day. It can also result in the creation of a spiritual foothold. I routinely listen to a undramatized Bible CD, when going to sleep, to make this less likely.

If you find this a difficult habit to break, try repeating this affirmation daily: "No (thinking about) problems in bed."

Daily affirmations are useful for many issues.

Listening to soft Christian music, or a lullaby, when going to sleep, is another effective way to get a good night's sleep.

My favorite lullaby is Hidden In My Heart, by Scripture Lullabies.

I usually start by listening to a Bible CD and later turn on the lullaby that plays throughout the night.

Another effective strategy is to go to sleep while praying (Isaiah 26:3). And to return to prayer anytime you wake up. Focus on giving thanks and praising God. Do not pray about your problems.

Other factors that may cause insomnia include the effects of medications or drugs (e.g. Coffee too close to bedtime), pain, and exercising too close to bedtime.

Never worry about insomnia; that is self-defeating. Just use the proven strategies in this article whenever the issue comes up.

You can also pray about your insomnia and see what God reveals to you.

Dealing With Insomnia.

Once insomnia does occur, you need a plan to deal with it.

First, it is necessary to exercise. Select an exercise that can be done if you can't sleep. The exercise should be sufficiently strenuous to dissipate tension. I know I said not to exercise too close to bedtime, but once you can't sleep, at this point, exercise becomes useful.

I use two exercises:

• Half push-ups.
• Walking up a steep hill, after riding my bicycle down the hill.

Second, if your level of anxiety does not diminish after exercising—or it soon re-emerges—a Spiritual Foothold is in play. Refer to the series entitled When Satan Gets a Foothold in regard to how to deal with this circumstance.

Third, it is necessary to get your conscious and subconscious mind off of whatever is keeping you awake. Select one of the following four options:

Option #1: Select a productive activity that involves concentrated mental effort. Studying any subject, not related to psychology or emotional problems, will work. Casual reading doesn't work nearly as well. By forcing your conscious mind to focus, you also prevent your subconscious mind from continuing to dwell on the thoughts that are keeping you awake. This study period should be at least 20 minutes. Usually, you will start to feel tired after 20-30 minutes.

For the first option, I like to read Consumer Reports magazine. I used to study coding when I was building this website.

Option #2: Prayer and Bible study. Pray, listen to worship music and/or study the Bible for one hour. Your prayer and Bible study should not focus on your problems. Consulting a Bible commentary (free online) will make this time more effective since this requires more focused concentration. Just Google "Psalm 1 commentary" for example.

Option #3: Combine the two options: Spend one hour doing prayer, bible study, worship and another activity requiring focused mental concentration.

The first three options work best.

Option #4: Another productive activity. The next best thing would be some type of productive physical labor combined with listening to the radio, a CD or something online (Again, nothing involving psychology or problems). The labor will work off some stress and provide a sense of accomplishment. Whatever you listen to will keep your mind occupied. Both of these will help with your insomnia.

Now, you need to get a 3x5 card and write down your own personalized insomnia plan. Just make a list of items that will help you get to sleep—in the order that you will try them. You then use as many of these items as necessary.

An example follows.

Insomnia Plan

• Exercise.
• Study 30 minutes.
• Prayer/Bible study/other study. {One hour}
• Work/Radio/CD etc.
• REMINDER: Use Spiritual Foothold Checklist. {If needed.}

If, at any time, you find that you can't get your mind to focus on reading something or on prayer, a spiritual foothold is in play. Again, refer to the series entitled When Satan Gets a Foothold in regard to how to deal with this circumstance.

Usually, only the first two or three items on the list will be needed before you start to feel tired and can try to go back to sleep.

Fourth: Once you've completed a sufficient number of these items, go back to sleep doing one of the following: 1) Listen to a Bible CD or equivalent. This should be a single voice narration in which the author speaks in a way that is conducive to falling asleep. Look for descriptions like "voice only," "single voice narration" and "undramatized." The idea is to keep your mind occupied so that you don't again start focusing on problems. Increase the volume—within reason—as necessary. 2) Listen to soft, relaxing music, or a lullaby. Soft Christian music is especially effective for insomnia (Isaiah 26:3). Soft Christmas music also works well. You may need an earbud if you don't sleep alone. 3) Continuous prayer until you fall asleep: This prayer should emphasize giving thanks and praising God. Do not pray about your problems—you won't be able to fall asleep. You can use this time to pray for others.

See what works best for you. I have a CD player on the headboard above my bed. This way, it's easy to adjust the volume.

Fifth: If you later find that you still can't sleep, just get up again and do one or more of the following:

• Another exercise.
• Complete another item on your Insomnia Plan list.
• Go through the Spiritual Foothold Checklist.

Then, go back to sleep.

This is the plan that I have used, successfully, for years.

Other Information.

You will, at times, come under spiritual attacks at night. And it is not usually necessary to get up, at least not once you've become more experienced in using Scripture to counter these attacks.

Get up after about twenty minutes, if you're feeling uncomfortable and can't sleep. Your Insomnia Plan will work much better if you don't delay getting up in this circumstance.

However, if you're completely relaxed and can't sleep, it's entirely OK to stay in bed and rest—as long as you can continue to avoid thinking about negatives.

Medications or alcohol should be used only on rare occasions for insomnia. These often become habit forming—you soon won't be able to sleep without them. And there may be side effects. The newer medications, in particular, can pose serious risks.

People with a history of drug or alcohol abuse should not use drugs or alcohol for insomnia.

If you have any concerns about your ability to do strenuous exercise, consult your doctor in advance. Also, have your doctor rule out Sleep Apnea and address other medical conditions that may be related to your insomnia.

So, these are my suggestions. They work well for me. And I'm confident they will work for you as well.

Note: When choosing a Bible narrator to listen to while you're falling asleep, it's important to choose one in which the speaker speaks in a way that is conducive to falling asleep. I particularly like Charles Taylor and Alexander Scourby.

Also recommended:

• Affirmations.
• Stopping Spiritual Attacks.
• When Satan Gets a Foothold.

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