Mayo Clinic Explains Why Effort Can Worsen Insomnia

Trying harder to fall asleep can actually make it more difficult to drift off, according to the Mayo Clinic ^[1].

This phenomenon, known as the sleep paradox, suggests that the mental effort and anxiety associated with forcing sleep can trigger alertness. Understanding this relationship is critical for those struggling with chronic insomnia who may inadvertently worsen their condition by obsessing over their sleep hygiene.

Bhanu Kolla, a professor of psychiatry and psychology at the Mayo Clinic and co-author of the Mayo Clinic Guide to Better Sleep, discussed these mechanisms in a recent presentation ^[1]. He said that the mindset a person brings to the bedroom significantly influences both the quantity and quality of their rest [1, 2].

When an individual focuses intensely on the need to sleep, the brain may perceive this effort as a task to be completed. This shift in perspective can create a state of hyperarousal, a physiological state characterized by increased heart rate and mental alertness, which is the opposite of the relaxation required for sleep ^[1].

To combat this, experts suggest shifting the focus away from the goal of sleeping and toward a mindset of relaxation [1, 2]. By reducing the pressure to perform the act of sleeping, patients can lower their anxiety, and allow the natural sleep drive to take over ^[1].

Kolla said that the obsession with sleep often becomes a cycle where the fear of not sleeping leads to the very wakefulness the person dreads ^[1]. This cycle can be broken by changing how a person views their nighttime routine and their expectations of sleep [1, 2].