Working on improving your sleep experience can sometimes feel like you’re walking the high ropes. It can feel a bit scary not knowing what the path to a good night’s sleep may be. What worked before may not work again in quite the same way, yet you have to keep on going to reach your goal of an improved sleep experience.
In life, we all have dreams and visions of ourselves having lots of energy and being able to clear out our to-do lists on a regular basis. We all know that to be able to get closer to that dream we need to sleep well. Sleep is a key ingredient for energy, cognitive ability and a positive outlook. It has been proven time and time again how important it is for quality of life and health in our later years. Yet sometimes our best intentions can be hindered by unseen or unknown factors.
These invisible blocks can manifest in a variety of ways and prevent us from following through on the promises we made ourselves. It is essential that if this sounds like you, you’re able to uncover and confront your invisible blocks if you are to make progress and ultimately achieve your sleep goals.
In this blog post, we will explore the eight common invisible blocks that could be preventing you from achieving your sleep goals, and how you can develop strategies to overcome them. By understanding the obstacles in your way, you can create a sleep plan that sets you up for success.
8 Invisible blocks that could be preventing you from achieving your sleep goals.
1. Recognizing self-sabotaging behaviours
Are you making a consistent effort to achieve your sleep goals, but seeing little progress? If so, it’s possible you’re not just fighting against external factors, but also self-sabotaging behaviours which are preventing you from progressing your sleep goals.
While it’s natural to be cynical, and have doubts and fears, it’s important to recognize when these thoughts and feelings are holding you back from achieving your sleep goals. Recognizing self-sabotaging behaviours and uncovering invisible blocks to achieving your sleep goals is crucial for anyone wanting to reach their highest potential.
Self-sabotage is a cycle of negative thinking and destructive actions that can prevent you from reaching your goals, no matter how hard you try. It is important to recognize these patterns of behaviour in order to break them and move forward with success.
It may seem harmless having sweets after dinner, less than 2hrs before bed while watching TV. Yet the sugar content may impact your sleep by taking longer for you to fall asleep, and while you’re sleeping, your sleep may be ‘lighter’ so you are easily woken.
Often, your own limiting beliefs are responsible for self-sabotaging behaviour. You create stories about why you cannot achieve your sleep goals e.g., ‘I work too late in the evenings’, which keeps you stuck in a destructive pattern. Becoming aware that these beliefs exist allows you to question them and identify what you need to do differently in order for you to achieve your desired sleep outcome.
Take a step back and identify any behaviours that may be preventing you from taking the actions, that you know will assist you, to reach your goals. Being aware of these self-sabotaging behaviours is the first step to overcoming them and unlocking the success you desire.
2. Identifying mental roadblocks
Everyone encounters mental roadblocks on the journey to achieving their goals, not least when trying to change sleep habits. These mental roadblocks can manifest in the form of negative self-talk, lack of motivation, or feeling overwhelmed by all the changes you want to make. Identifying these blocks and understanding their source can help you to tackle them head-on and make progress in the right direction.
The first step in identifying mental roadblocks is to reflect on how you feel when thinking about your sleep goals. Do you feel excited? Nervous? Anxious? If a negative emotion is present, take some time to explore what is causing it. Is it fear of failure? Lack of self-confidence? Once you can pinpoint the source of the blocks, you can start taking action to address them. Often clients who come to me feel hopeless about their sleep situation and progress towards addressing it.
3. Identifying emotional blocks
Sometimes your blocks can be so subtle that you don’t even realize they’re there! You might be feeling anxious or uncertain about your sleep future and not even know why. You might be afraid of taking risks by trying something new or feel like you don’t deserve sleep success.
It’s important to take the time to reflect, recognize and analyse your emotions towards better sleep and figure out what’s causing your blocks. Once you’ve identified the root cause of your emotional blocks, you can start to work through them and move forward with your sleep goals.
4. Examining habits & beliefs
As you start to uncover invisible blocks to achieving your sleep goals, it’s important to also take a closer look at your habits and beliefs. Many of us have become so accustomed to automatically going through our day-to-day routines that we don’t realize how much of an impact they can have on our sleep.
By examining your own behaviours and thought patterns, you can better understand how to break out of old sleep-related habits. This can help you make small changes that will move you closer to your sleep goals. It can also help you identify any underlying issues that may be holding you back in other areas of your life.
So, take the time to really explore what your habits and beliefs are towards healthy sleep, and if need be towards your health and ongoing success, and how they may be affecting your progress.
5. Releasing resistance and stress
How do you respond to stress? Often stress overwhelms us and it’s natural to want to resist or avoid the difficult emotions and situations you’re facing. This resistance can often be the hidden block keeping you from reaching your sleep goals. It’s important to recognize and accept these emotions and to look at the bigger picture.
Learning to let go of resistance, and to approach stressful situations with a sense of curiosity and openness, can lead to greater clarity around what needs to be done and how to do it. It also takes less energy!
You may also have subconscious blocks that may be hindering your progress towards your sleep goals; connecting with your body through mindfulness techniques such as yoga or meditation can help you to bring these invisible blocks into awareness so they can be explored in more depth and released.
6. Establishing accountability
Having someone to hold us accountable can be a game changer when it comes to staying on track and accomplishing what we set out to do. This person can be a friend, family member, mentor, or even a professional like me.
Just having someone to check in with, who will help you stay focused and on track, is invaluable. Establishing accountability can help to keep you motivated and help ensure you stay on the path to achieving your goals.
7. Willingness to change
Change is often viewed as a scary and intimidating thing, but it doesn’t have to be! Having a willingness to change can open up so many opportunities that you didn’t even know were available to you.
Change can come in many forms when considering improving your sleep, from small tweaks to your daily routine to taking a leap of faith and embracing a completely new healthier lifestyle, to anything in between.
The key is to be open to new ideas and perspectives and to be willing to take a calculated risk. With a willingness to change, you never know what you might discover about yourself and why your sleep hasn’t been optimal. You may even decide to uplevel your sleep goals, and learn to sleep like an athlete, once you get started.
8. Throughout it, all embrace possibility
As I’ve discussed throughout this post, uncovering invisible blocks to achieving your sleep goals is a crucial first step in taking action. I’ve explored the common causes of these blocks, how to uncover them, and how to move past them. But the most important takeaway here is learning to embrace possibility. The possibility that you could achieve even more if your sleep was optimised.
When you begin to believe that anything is possible, you open yourself up to new opportunities, new ideas, and new ways of taking action. So, next time you feel stuck in a rut with your sleep goals, take a minute to consider the possibilities and you might just find the answers you’ve been searching for.
Uncovering the invisible blocks to achieving your sleep goals can be a difficult process. You may have to make some difficult decisions, face your fears, or change your mindset. However, doing the work to uncover the blocks is worth it in the long run. Your relationships, career and health will thank you.
If you would like to figure out why your sleep isn’t as good as it could be then book in a sleepwell planning call with me and we can explore what is working and what other strategies you might need to try.
