Authentic Counselling Training
Sleep Patterns
[Under development: 28 June 2005 ]
There is much that goes to make up the sleep pattern that a person typically experiences. Many people have habits and rituals associated with going to bed, falling asleep, waking in the night, and rising in the morning. Whilst acknowledging that variation (daily, weekly, periodic, occasional) for a multitude of reasons is inevitable, creation of some kind of visual representation of your sleep pattern is both possible and potentially helpful. I have illustrated some of the graphical questions with data of my own.
1. What are the factors that determine
a. The time at which you go to bed? (e.g. working late, watching television, caring for dependents)
b. The time, having gone to bed, when you fall asleep? (e.g. reading in bed, watching television in bed, sex)
2. On a frequency distribution graph
a. Draw a red-coloured frequency distribution curve to show what time you typically go to bed, with the extent of variation
b. Draw
a black-coloured frequency distribution curve to show what time you typically
aim to go to bed (notice in my graph below, my aim to be in bed clusters around
c. Draw a blue-coloured frequency distribution curve to show what time, having gone to bed, you typically fall asleep
3. Regarding the graph you have just drawn, what differences (if any) in your experience are there between
a. Weekdays and weekends / holidays
b. Summer and winter
c. When you are in different emotional states (anxious, depressed, excited, content with life)
4. What are the factors that determine
a. The time at which you finally wake, abandoning sleep? (e.g. alarm, noisy children, nagging partner)
b. The time at which you finally get out of bed? (e.g. being awake, at risk of being late for work, caring for dependents)
5. Some
people wake at
a. Draw a blue-coloured frequency distribution curve to show what time you abandon trying to sleep on a weekday
b. Draw a red-coloured frequency distribution curve to show what time you finally get out of bed on a weekday
c. Draw a green-coloured frequency distribution curve to show what time you abandon trying to sleep on a weekend / holiday
d. Draw a orange-coloured frequency distribution curve to show what time you finally get out of bed on a weekend / holiday
6. A break in sleep is when you wake and intend (although you may or may not be successful) to return to sleep. Recurrent breaks in sleep can occur for various reasons, such as: toilet visit, muscular/skeletal pain, chronic bronchial problems, digestive problems (e.g. hiatus hernia, irritable bowel syndrome), anxiety, stress, trauma, sick dependent, noisy neighbours, partner wanting sex.
a. On a bar chart, show the number of breaks in your sleep each night over a typical month
b. List the typical reasons for your breaks in sleep
c. If the breaks in your sleep are clock-related (time of night), choosing your most typical break-in-sleep pattern (e.g. two breaks in sleep each night), shade in red the periods of time when you are typically awake
d. If the breaks in your sleep are related to how long you have been asleep, choosing your most typical break-in-sleep pattern (e.g. two breaks in sleep each night), shade in red the periods of time when you are typically awake
7. Quality of sleep can vary between poor quality, leaving the person feeling washed out, to deeply restorative. Quality of sleep can also vary through the night.
a. Which hour of your sleep do you consider to be of greatest value to you?
b. Which hour of your sleep do you consider to be of least value to you?
8. Some people fall asleep before going to bed / getting into bed, for example snoozing in an easy chair in front of the television, or drowsing in a hot bath, or napping fully clothed on the bed. If you (sometimes) fall asleep before you go to bed
a. how common is this pattern for you?
b. what is the quality of this napping sleep?
c. what time do you typically fall asleep?
d. what time do typically finally rouse yourself?
9. Draw a graph showing your typical sleep pattern through the night, including all the features explored in the preceding sections (bed-time, getting up time, breaks in sleep, napping). Represent clock time on the horizontal (x) axis; and represent quality of sleep on the vertical (y) axis: the greater the quality of your sleep, the smaller the y-value, the more awake and alert you are, the greater the y-value.
a. Draw a blue curve to show your typical weekday pattern
b. Draw a green curve to show your typical weekend / holiday pattern
10. What other factors are relevant regarding your own sleep patterns?
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