Better
Sleep
for
Voice
Hearers
Many voice hearers
report problems sleeping.
Poor sleep can mean not being able
to fall asleep in the first place, waking
during the night, waking up too early
or not feeling refreshed on waking.
It is common for voice hearers to
report that their voices are worse at
night, and that the night time means
they cannot use their usual coping
strategies such as going for a walk.
People are also often alone at night,
lacking distraction, and in trying to
unwind for the night, their lack of
occupation may bring on their voices.
Particular problems for voice
hearers might be voices or visions
or other sensations preventing
them from falling asleep, or voices
waking them from their sleep
during the night.
General tips
YY Avoid alcohol, caffeine and nicotine
for six hours before bedtime.
YY Street drugs and some prescription
drugs may also interfere with sleep,
so ask your pharmacist for advice.
YY Large meals and strenuous
exercise in the evening may also
keep you awake.
YY Make sure your bedroom is a calm,
quiet place to sleep, that your bed
and bedding are comfortable, that
the temperature and light levels
suit you, that you have enough
fresh air, and that your curtains
are thick enough to keep out early
morning light.
YY Only use your bedroom for sleep
and dont go to bed unless you are
tired.
YY Exercise during the day can help
with sleep.
YY Try to keep to a regular routine,
relaxing and winding down, going
to bed and getting up at the same
time each day.
YY Some people find relaxation
techniques useful, for example
deep breathing or progressive
muscle relaxation.
YY Dont try and force yourself to
sleep; that will only make you more
anxious
YY Importantly, no matter how tired
you are, dont sleep during the day.
YY Have a regular routine, for example
having a bubble bath and a
soothing non-caffeinated drink
before bed every day.
YY Some people use calming,
comforting fragrances such as
lavender, for example, spraying
them on their pillow.
Tip: Go to sleep only when you're
feeling tired.
YY Food and drink may be useful, for
example a banana and a glass of
milk, or warm milk with teaspoon of
honey.
YY Having a comfortable bedroom
environment is important, make
sure youre well supported by
pillows; some people find a heavy
duvet or cuddly toy comforting.
YY Some people find a large bowl
of pasta helpful; while others find
eating keeps them awake.
YY Some people find herbal tea
helpful, for example, chamomile.
YY Other people find herbal remedies,
sedating antihistamine or
prescribed sleeping medicines
useful. You should be aware that
some of these are habit forming
and may not be useful in the long
term.
YY Other techniques include the
body scan where you tense then
release every part of your body,
systematically working up from the
feet; some people find counting
their breaths helpful.
YY Some people can use their spiritual
beliefs to help them relax, for
example, praying, tarot/angel/
guidance cards, dream catchers,
crystals and stones and readings to
clear their mind ready for sleep.
YY Some people are able to make
agreements with their voices, for
example, I will listen to you for 30
minutes, after that please be quiet
and let me sleep.
YY Other people are able to call on
good voices that can calm and
reassure them.
YY Some people find visualising a
relaxing scene or concentrating
on pleasant memories helpful and
calming.
YY Another idea is doing some sort of
relaxing art doodling or colouring
in can be soothing and are very
effective distractions.
General relaxation techniques can
be very useful, for example using
grounding techniques such as
the 5,4,3,2,1 technique where you
concentrate on 5 things you can
see; 4 things you can hear; 3
things you are touching; 2 things
you can smell; and 1 thing you can
taste.
The Internet can be a huge resource
of information and support for sleep
difficulties. If you have Internet access
you might be interested in forums
where you can talk to other people
in similar situations, for example, the
English Hearing Voices Network have
their own forum: http://hvn.forumatic.
com
What to do if voices
disturb your sleep
Some voice hearers find that listening
calming voices on audiobooks,
listening the radio or watching TV with
the sound turned down low allows
them to avoid concentrating on their
voices, providing welcome distraction.
Try to avoid stimulating programmes
that require concentration. Particularly
useful are devices with time switches
that will turn them off after a set period
of time to prevent it disturbing sleep
later in the night.
Some voice hearers find listening to
white noise (i.e. the sound created
by a fan) allows them to block out
their voices. On the other hand, some
people find ear plugs to be more
helpful for blocking out their voices.
If you find yourself lying in bed and
listening to your voices in an unhelpful
way, sometimes getting up and
going into another room and finding
something calming to do such as
watching TV, reading, or listening to
the radio. This can be enough to
What to do if visions
disturb your sleep
Some people who see visions find
sleeping with the light on dimly helps.
You could also try using night lights,
lava lamps, fairy lights, glow in the
dark stars or fibre optic lamps.
Conversely, other people find eye
shades to be a useful method
for managing their visions. Some
people are able to use visualisation
techniques, for example, imagining
a protective force-field to fend off
unwanted visions.
What to do if sensations
disturb your sleep
Sometimes sensations such as feeling
insects crawling, pain, or feeling their
limbs change shape disturbs peoples
sleep. Solutions might include
switching the light on so you can see
the affected area, or massaging the
affected area gently.
What to do if you get
woken up in the night
If you have trouble getting to sleep or
get woken in the night, some people
find it helpful to use a repeated
phrase (sometimes called a mantra)
for example, repeating calm and
relaxed over and over again. Other
people recite poems or prayers to
distract them and allow them to sleep.
For some people, having a written
note by their bed with calming and
reassuring messages to themselves,
for example, this experience is
transitory and will pass to read if they
cant sleep or wake in the night.
Some people find writing down
what they are experiencing useful.
Sometimes a worry box might help
write down your worries and post
them in the box to deal with in the
morning. Sometimes getting out of
bed and doing something calming, like
drinking warm milk, listening to the
radio, reading something relaxing or
watching television for a while might
be more helpful than lying in bed
awake.
Some people find it helpful to repeat a
reassuring phrase, for example I am
aware of this thought. Im not going to
let it upset me, or make me anxious
and worried. This thought will pass.
What to do if you have
intrusive thoughts
Everyone experiences intrusive
thoughts that come and go all
day. However, these feelings can
feel particularly intense at night
when youre trying to get to sleep.
Mindfulness techniques can be very
useful in coping with such thoughts.
One technique is to visualize the
thoughts as clouds passing in
the sky. Watch them travel past,
without reacting to them emotionally,
remaining mentally detached.
What to do if you have
nightmares
Nightmares are normal after trauma.
Having nightmares can be the brains
way of attempting to make sense of
a horrific situation. The situation is
not hopeless. Some people believe
you can influence your dreams by
planning your behaviour in them and
changing how you act in them.
Use your imagination to have better
dreams. Seek help in your dream,
maybe find shelter or ask other dream
characters for help, offer help to those
characters in trouble. As you take
action in your nightmares you will be
helping yourself gather resources
for coping in the waking world.
(From: Guidelines for Coping with
Nightmares After Trauma, Patricia
Garfield).
Sometimes you just need to
accept that you can't sleep.
Becoming anxious and stressed
about it will just make it worse.
For more information:
Voices and visions: www.hearing-voices.org or www.intervoiceonline.org.
In a crisis call: NHS direct: 0845 46 47 (www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk) or the
Samaritans: 08457 90 90 90 (www.samaritans.org)
Produced by: Ruth Lambley and members of the York Hearing Voices Group
September 2012. Design by Rachel Waddingham.
Images: Asherah-Seren fav.me/d26q26c, Alessia-Izzo fav.me/d4gj83j
