activities that are enjoyable in themselves and are not taken as a means to an end. Stay away from any activities that might be stimulating or that have the potential to upset you or cause you to worry.
Say “Good Night” to Your Personal Electronics
Many people use personal electronics to stay connected to their friends, family, and work. Even if you enjoy connecting to others through your personal electronic devices, social activity close to bedtime can interfere with the process of disconnecting from your active life and the day’s excitement and tensions so that sleep can unfold naturally. Waiting for the next text or e-mail, thinking of a response, and then waiting for the next message to arrive can create a sense of alertness that can interfere with sleep. Additionally, for some people, using personal electronics becomes addictive. If you became tense when you read the heading “Say ‘Good Night’ to Your Personal Electronics,” it may be useful to examine why this thought makes you tense. Anxiety drives compulsive behavior, and anxiety is not conducive to sleep. The best way to get rid of a compulsive behavior is to resist doing it and engage in an alternative behavior that is incompatible with the behavior you want to change. For example, turn off your personal device—your cell phone, portable gaming device, or tablet—and leave it in a different room (so that it is not handy) while you engage in something enjoyable and calming. Pretty soon, you will develop the habit of powering down your devices at night, and you may find yourself less alert close to bedtime. Later in this chapter you will find a list of activities you might consider for your Buffer Zone.
Adjusting the Duration of Your Buffer Zone
Although the rule of thumb is to institute an hour-long Buffer Zone, for people who have difficulty staying awake in the evening, an hour may be too long. This may be a particular problem for early birds (those who become sleepy early and rise early). If you find yourself nodding off in the evening, shorten your Buffer Zone to thirty minutes.
On the other hand, a variety of things can make it necessary to have a longer Buffer Zone. Your day may have been unusually active and stressful, or your evening activity may have been very exciting or upsetting; on such evenings, an hour may not provide enough time for you to distance yourself from the day’s excitement. People who are night owls are more prone to becoming alert late in the evening and may require a longer Buffer Zone and very careful attention to the type of activities they select for it. In general, if you find that you are frequently unable to disengage from the day even after an hour of unwinding, consider lengthening your Buffer Zone.
However, one hour is usually plenty of time for a wind-down period. If you are tempted to have your Buffer Zone start the moment you return home from work, or if you begin avoiding evening activities—such as socializing, housework, or hobbies—because you are worried they will interfere with sleep, you may be too worried about your sleep. Your life may have become just about working and sleeping, or more accurately not sleeping. Living this way is not helpful for sleep and may increase your vulnerability to depression. There is a difference between engaging in activities that help you wind down from a busy day and avoiding engaging in normal activities. The former can promote sleep; the latter can mean that you are preoccupied with sleep, and that could backfire and interfere with sleep.
Possible Buffer Zone Activities
The best activities for the Buffer Zone—your transition time—are those that are done for the sake of enjoyment and are not goal-oriented. We recommend that you create a list of appropriate activities to choose from during your Buffer Zone; below are some ideas to get you started. Keep in mind, however, that what may be a good Buffer Zone activity for one person may not be so good for another
Say “Good Night” to Your Personal Electronics
Many people use personal electronics to stay connected to their friends, family, and work. Even if you enjoy connecting to others through your personal electronic devices, social activity close to bedtime can interfere with the process of disconnecting from your active life and the day’s excitement and tensions so that sleep can unfold naturally. Waiting for the next text or e-mail, thinking of a response, and then waiting for the next message to arrive can create a sense of alertness that can interfere with sleep. Additionally, for some people, using personal electronics becomes addictive. If you became tense when you read the heading “Say ‘Good Night’ to Your Personal Electronics,” it may be useful to examine why this thought makes you tense. Anxiety drives compulsive behavior, and anxiety is not conducive to sleep. The best way to get rid of a compulsive behavior is to resist doing it and engage in an alternative behavior that is incompatible with the behavior you want to change. For example, turn off your personal device—your cell phone, portable gaming device, or tablet—and leave it in a different room (so that it is not handy) while you engage in something enjoyable and calming. Pretty soon, you will develop the habit of powering down your devices at night, and you may find yourself less alert close to bedtime. Later in this chapter you will find a list of activities you might consider for your Buffer Zone.
Adjusting the Duration of Your Buffer Zone
Although the rule of thumb is to institute an hour-long Buffer Zone, for people who have difficulty staying awake in the evening, an hour may be too long. This may be a particular problem for early birds (those who become sleepy early and rise early). If you find yourself nodding off in the evening, shorten your Buffer Zone to thirty minutes.
On the other hand, a variety of things can make it necessary to have a longer Buffer Zone. Your day may have been unusually active and stressful, or your evening activity may have been very exciting or upsetting; on such evenings, an hour may not provide enough time for you to distance yourself from the day’s excitement. People who are night owls are more prone to becoming alert late in the evening and may require a longer Buffer Zone and very careful attention to the type of activities they select for it. In general, if you find that you are frequently unable to disengage from the day even after an hour of unwinding, consider lengthening your Buffer Zone.
However, one hour is usually plenty of time for a wind-down period. If you are tempted to have your Buffer Zone start the moment you return home from work, or if you begin avoiding evening activities—such as socializing, housework, or hobbies—because you are worried they will interfere with sleep, you may be too worried about your sleep. Your life may have become just about working and sleeping, or more accurately not sleeping. Living this way is not helpful for sleep and may increase your vulnerability to depression. There is a difference between engaging in activities that help you wind down from a busy day and avoiding engaging in normal activities. The former can promote sleep; the latter can mean that you are preoccupied with sleep, and that could backfire and interfere with sleep.
Possible Buffer Zone Activities
The best activities for the Buffer Zone—your transition time—are those that are done for the sake of enjoyment and are not goal-oriented. We recommend that you create a list of appropriate activities to choose from during your Buffer Zone; below are some ideas to get you started. Keep in mind, however, that what may be a good Buffer Zone activity for one person may not be so good for another
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