10 Ways to Get Better Sleep (and Maybe Cure Your Insomnia)
(Mark Hatfield/iStockphoto)
Don't "catastrophize."
People who can't sleep tend to compound the problem by fretting about the consequences of their sleeplessness, like the possibility that they'll do a bad job at work and get fired. Catastrophizing a sleep problem, however, tends to further engrain it, says Shives. "I try to get [people] to calm down," she says. "But that's kind of like telling a depressed person to perk up."