13 Sleep Hygiene Group Protocol

Group Focus: Sleep Hygiene

Education Objectives: This session’s objective is intended to provide individuals with tools to foster a better understanding of different strategies to increase quality of sleep. Individuals with be provided with a sleep tracker to fill out how they slept last night to be used to check overall sleep hygiene.

Content Goal:

• Participants will identify their current sleep patterns and habits.
• Participants will identify 3+ strategies to increase quality of sleep.

Purpose:

• To educate participates on different strategies to increase quality of sleep.
• Increase awareness of factors that can impact sleep.
• Provide resources to increase implementation of healthy sleep habits.

Icebreaker (5 minutes):

• What is/was your favorite bedtime story? If you did not have one, what must you do before sleeping?

Lesson (5 minutes):

• How are you currently sleeping?
• What time are you waking up/going to bed?
• Do you feel like you’re more energized in the morning or evening?
• When you have a restful night how many hours of sleep would you guess you had?

Activity/Discussion (30 minutes):

The activity and discussion portions of this group protocol are intertwined. Allow the conversation to flow naturally and attend to the various underlined talking points as they are brought up. If one of the underlined talking points is not brought up, pose it as a question to engage the participants.

• Setting goals for sleep is often the first thing to do when changing our sleep patterns.
  • What time do you go to bed and wake up at a specific time?
  • Do you have more energy in the morning or the evening?
  • Do you have difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up in the morning?
• The CDC recommends that adults sleep 7-9 hours a night to ensure a healthy lifestyle.

Discuss the importance of sleep

• Discuss the importance of sleep for overall health and well-being, including the impact of poor sleep on mental health.
  • What are some physical symptoms that you aren’t getting enough sleep? Or that you are tired?
    • Tired during the day
    • Lots of headaches
    • Generally, don’t feel well
    • Lots of stomach aches
    • More clumsy
    • Need to take naps
  • What are some mental/emotional symptoms that you aren’t getting enough sleep? Or that you are tired?
    • Nervousness
    • Trouble remembering things
    • Always in a bad mood
    • Sadness/depression
    • Irritability
    • Hard to focus
  • What are some behavioral symptoms that you aren’t getting enough sleep? Or that you are tired?
    • Away from work a lot
    • Problems at work
    • Taking more alcohol or drugs
    • Don’t get as much done as you need
    • Not safe when driving
    • Family problems

Identify and address barriers

• Barriers of sleep, such as anxiety, insomnia, and nightmares.
• Safety if homeless: Knowing where your closest shelter is and when their curfew time is
  • Siena Francis House: Curfew is 9pm, but doors open at 4pm for gets to re-enter. They must be inside the emergency shelter by that time and lights on at 7 am.

Encourage healthy sleep habits

• Comfortable sleep environment (cozy blanket, heat, pillow)
• Avoiding stimulating activities before bed (videogames, watching TV
• Winding down with a relaxing routine before sleep.
  • What are some winding down activities you could do before bed?

Use relaxation techniques

• Encourage group members to use relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and meditation to help them fall asleep.
• Go through Progressive Muscle Relaxation Script
  • How do you feel after completing that exercise?

Light exposure

• Discuss the impact of light exposure on sleep and encourage group members to limit their exposure to bright screens and artificial light in the evening.
• First thing in the morning helpful to get 5-30 minutes of light exposure to set circadian rhythm and to decrease light exposure as you begin to wind down for the night.

Strategies to address insomnia and other sleep-related issues like stress or nightmares

• Biological clock and the effect of sleep loss on wake functioning.
• Lying down to sleep only when sleepy.
• Avoid using the bed for activities other than sleep, rest, or intimacy.
• Get out of bed if unable to sleep within 15-20 minutes and return only when sleepy.
• Repeat pattern throughout the night as necessary.
• Get up at the same time every day.
• Avoid napping throughout the day.

Medication adherence

• Discuss the use of medication for sleep, and the potential side effects.
• Remeron, Seroquel, Desyrel: common medications that have drowsiness as one of the main side effects.
• It’s important to know what medications you are on and their side effects.

Sleep diary

• Encourage group members to keep a sleep diary to track their sleep patterns and identify potential problems.
• Pass out sleep tracker worksheet.
• Have participants fill out their sleep experience from the night prior and educate on the importance of knowing what you are doing before bed to track what nighttime habits might be impacting their quality of sleep.

Closing Reflection (5 minutes):

• If you had to pick one thing that you would like to transition into your daily life, what is it?
• What was your biggest takeaway?