I received a message from my health insurance that I can use a number of online courses for free for a month. One of them is about sleeping problems.
I have already studied sleep therapy before. Such therapy consists of, among other things, gaining insight into what happens mentally and emotionally when you cannot sleep, sleeping tips and keeping a sleep diary. I will not turn down the opportunity to learn a little more about this.
Sleep problems course
On the health insurer’s website, I end up in a rather opaque jungle of information. I see an overview of the above elements that belong to sleep therapy. However, I can’t seem to find the free month for the Sleep Problems course.
I do see all kinds of other information buttons that refer to, among other things, how to find out whether you really have sleeping problems and to tips about sleeping better. One of the possibilities is to follow a webinar on a website for online meditation. There is also attention for relaxation exercises and for combating stress.
The sleeping tips include how to furnish your bedroom as favorably as possible in preparation for a good night’s sleep. A dark, quiet bedroom is best. In addition, it is emphasized that it is best to reduce your activities of the day in time and not eat another meal shortly before going to sleep. Also preferably no more coffee or (a lot of) alcohol during the evenings.
Restless legs
The information provided by health insurance is not specifically aimed at restless legs syndrome. However, many of the sleep tips are useful for our target group.
I remember that the sleep therapy I went through earlier was mainly intended for people with insomnia. You can also experience this if you have restless legs, but that is not always the case.
Personally, I don’t have much trouble relaxing and followed all sleep tips before my restless legs got serious. I can fall asleep on my own. Only when I wake up with restless legs and that feeling does not go away after massaging, going out and doing stretching exercises, it becomes more difficult to relax.
Lately I’ve noticed that when I really don’t know what to do anymore, breathing exercises help me to focus my attention on something. Focusing on that leaves me with no room to worry about my legs. In the end I almost always fall asleep.
