Stimulus control therapy

Stimulus control is a therapy that helps you get better sleep when you have insomnia. Many people with insomnia associate their bed or bedroom with things that interfere with sleep. This tends to happen when you spend a lot of time in your bed unable to sleep.

Stimulus control helps you change these thoughts and feelings, so you associate your bed and bedroom more strongly with sleep. You also focus on keeping a consistent schedule for bedtime and waking, which helps you sleep better over time.

The therapy uses techniques like reducing naps, setting a regular time to wake up, going to bed only when you feel sleepy, avoiding activities in the bedroom other than sleep, and getting out of bed to do relaxing activities when you don’t feel sleepy. This reduces the amount of time spent lying in bed awake.