“Watching the Clock While Trying to Sleep Exacerbates Insomnia, Finds study by Indiana University”

The Indiana University study led by Spencer Dawson, associate director of clinical training in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, found that watching the clock while trying to fall asleep exacerbated insomnia and promoted the use of sleep aids. The study suggests that avoiding checking the time can be a simple and effective solution to managing insomnia.

Participants completed questionnaires about the severity of their insomnia, their use of sleep medications, and the time they spent observing their behavior while trying to fall asleep. They were also asked to report any psychiatric diagnoses.

He continued, “People worry that they are not getting enough sleep, and then they start estimating how long it will take them to fall asleep again and when they have to get up (…) This is not the type of activity that helps facilitate the ability to fall asleep, the more stressed you are.” It got more difficult to sleep.”

Dawson said the study suggests that a simple behavioral intervention can help those with insomnia.

“One of the things people can do is turn around their watch, or ignore it, ditch the smartwatch, put away the phone so they don’t check the time,” he added.