Sleep Problems: Finding Relief Through Addressing Root Causes

If you’re struggling with sleep difficulties, you’re not alone. Many people find themselves lying awake for hours, unable to quiet their minds, or waking in the middle of the night with racing thoughts. Perhaps you wake too early and can’t get back to sleep, or you find yourself replaying the same worries over and over before sleep finally comes. These patterns can leave you exhausted, frustrated, and dreading bedtime.

The Real Problem Behind Sleep Disturbances

While sleep hygiene strategies are important—and we’ll touch on those—the truth is that most people seeking help for sleep problems have already heard these standard advice about keeping a regular schedule, avoiding screens before bed, limiting caffeine, creating a cool dark bedroom, and establishing a calming bedtime routine. These basics matter, but they often don’t address the real issue.

For most clients I work with, sleep problems are actually a side effect of something deeper. The true culprits are usually anxiety, persistent worries, and unresolved problems or challenges in their lives. These might include:

• Financial stress and uncertainty
• Marital or relationship difficulties
• Career dissatisfaction or workplace concerns
• Endless list of chores to conclude
• Feelings of unfulfillment or lack of direction
• Unresolved conflicts or decisions weighing on your mind
• General life stressors that haven’t been adequately processed
• Guild and embarrassment over avoidance of necessary tasks

The Rumination Trap

What happens is that when you finally lie down to rest, your mind doesn’t shut off. Instead, it becomes a stage for all these concerns to replay themselves—often the same thoughts circling endlessly without resolution – or action. You may ruminate for hours before sleep comes, or wake at 2 or 3 AM with your mind immediately jumping to these worries. The thoughts feel urgent and important, but they’re rarely productive at that hour. They’re pointless repetitions that steal your rest without actually solving anything.

The key to better sleep is learning to “swipe off” these repetitive, unhelpful thoughts—to recognize them for what they are and gently but firmly redirect your mind away from them.

The Solution: Taking Power Over Your Mind

The solution often rests with power—specifically, your power over what you allow your mind to do. You may feel powerless against the flood of worries that arrive when your head hits the pillow, but you can reclaim control.

The approach I teach involves building a set of thinking subjects and patterns that make it impossible for you to think about the things that keep you awake. This is based on a fundamental truth about how human minds work: we cannot think of more than one or two things at a time. When you deliberately fill your mental space with specific, carefully chosen thought patterns, your mind simply cannot create the sleep-disrupting problem thoughts. There’s no room for them.

The patterns I teach have been specifically developed to address sleep problems. They give your mind something else to do—something that occupies that limited mental bandwidth completely, leaving no space for rumination. Once you master these techniques, your mind literally cannot generate the anxious, repetitive thoughts that previously kept you awake.

My Approach to Sleep Problems

I have worked with many clients to address exactly this issue—the problem of nighttime rumination that keeps you awake or disrupts your sleep. Together, we investigate and work to resolve the underlying causes of your sleep disturbances. This means identifying what’s really troubling you, addressing those concerns during waking hours when you can actually do something about them, and developing these practical mental strategies to quiet your mind when it’s time to rest.

I’ll be honest with you: this approach is straightforward, but it requires practice and dedication. The strategies work, but they take effort on your part. You’ll need to commit to the process and consistently apply the techniques we develop together. Change doesn’t happen overnight, but with persistence, you can break free from the cycle of sleeplessness and rumination.

Standard Sleep Hygiene Basics

While we focus on the deeper causes and mental control strategies, here are the foundational sleep hygiene practices that support good rest I mentioned earlier:

• Maintain a consistent sleep schedule (same bedtime and wake time daily)
• Create a cool, dark, quiet sleeping environment
• Limit caffeine, especially after noon
• Avoid screens (phone, tablet, TV) for at least an hour before bed
• Get regular exercise, but not too close to bedtime
• Limit alcohol, which disrupts sleep quality
• Develop a calming pre-sleep routine

They are necessary, but not sufficient in most cases.

Moving Forward

Effective treatment can help you feel calmer, more confident, and more in control of your life. I invite you to reach out to discuss how we can work together toward the relief you’re seeking.

Phone: 410-970-4917

Email: edgewaterpsychotherapy@gmail.com

I look forward to hearing from you and helping you on your journey toward greater peace and wellbeing.