Quadra Wellness and Counselling Vancouver

Did you know that your sleep and mental health are deeply connected?

Poor sleep can affect your mood, increase stress levels, and exacerbate mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. But it goes both ways; stress, anxiety, and depression often come along with poor sleep, which can become its own monster.

While we can’t control all the challenges that come up for us, making space for sleep and even rest when sleep isn’t happening can help your emotional resilience, cognitive function, and overall well-being during tough times.

Ensuring you get enough restful sleep is crucial for maintaining good mental health. If you’re struggling with sleep, it might be worth exploring techniques and therapies designed to improve your sleep patterns and, in turn, support your mental health.

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Hi! I’m Tony, a social worker, therapist, and speaker specializing in sleep and sleep troubles. I believe better sleep is the key to better mental health and resilience. Connect with me for more tips and insights on improving sleep and overall well-being.

👉 www.quadrawellness.com

👉 on Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube

Did you know self-compassion can help you sleep better? 🛏️

Practicing self-kindness can reduce stress and anxiety, which are common culprits behind insomnia. By being gentle with yourself, especially during tough times, you create a mental environment conducive to relaxation and healthy sleep.

Here’s how to cultivate self-compassion:

• Mindful Breathing: Spend a few minutes each day focusing on your breath, letting go of judgment.

• Positive Self-Talk: Replace self-criticism with encouraging words. Remind yourself that it’s okay to have a bad night.

• Gratitude Practice: Before bed, reflect on a few things you’re grateful for, shifting your focus to positive thoughts.

Self-compassion is a powerful tool for improving sleep and overall well-being. Let’s be kinder to ourselves and enjoy more restful nights.

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Hi! I’m Tony, a social worker, therapist, and speaker specializing in sleep and sleep troubles. I believe healthy sleep is the key to better health and resilience. Connect with me for more tips and insights on improving sleep and overall well-being.

👉 www.quadrawellness.com

👉 on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube

Did you know that insomnia isn’t just a personal issue but a significant economic one, too?

In the United States, chronic insomnia costs between $1.8 billion and $207.5 billion annually due to lost productivity. Canada faces a similar challenge, with an estimated $1.9 billion lost each year.

This isn’t just about absenteeism but also presenteeism—employees being at work but not fully functioning.

Leaders! It’s crucial to address sleep health in the workplace. Supporting employees in managing their sleep can boost productivity and overall well-being. Implementing flexible work hours, promoting a healthy work-life balance, and providing resources like sleep health workshops can make a big difference.
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Hi! I’m Tony, a social worker, therapist, and speaker specializing in sleep and sleep troubles. I believe better sleep is the key to better mental health and resilience. Connect with me for more tips and insights on improving sleep and overall well-being.

👉 Visit www.quadrawellness.com for more information on sleep issues

👉 on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube

Let’s talk about ACT-I 🌿🛌

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Insomnia (ACT-I) takes a different approach to addressing insomnia. This method helps you accept your thoughts and feelings rather than fighting them. It emphasizes living a values-driven life despite sleep challenges, using mindfulness and acceptance strategies.

Key components of ACT-I include:

• Acceptance: Embracing rather than avoiding sleep-related thoughts and feelings.

• Cognitive Defusion: Learning to see thoughts as just thoughts, not absolute truths.

• Values Clarification: Identifying what’s truly important to you and committing to actions that align with those values, even when faced with insomnia.

ACT-I offers a compassionate and flexible path to improving sleep. It focuses on enhancing overall life satisfaction and resilience by reducing the worry and effort that make sleep worse.

Hi! I’m Tony, a social worker, therapist, and speaker specializing in sleep and sleep troubles. I believe better sleep is the key to better mental health and resilience. Connect with me for more tips and insights on improving sleep and overall well-being.

👉 Visit www.quadrawellness.com to read more about chronic sleep problems

👉 on Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube

What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia?

Ever heard of CBT-I? It stands for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia. This evidence-based approach helps you identify and change thoughts and behaviours that interfere with sleep. Techniques include sleep restriction, limiting your time in bed to improve sleep efficiency, and stimulus control, which helps you associate the bed with sleep and letting go (rather than fear and dread!

Cognitive restructuring helps you challenge negative thoughts about sleep. CBT-I is highly effective for treating insomnia and can significantly improve your sleep quality. Stay tuned for more tips! 💤

Heard of CBT-I? 🛏️💤

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is a highly effective, evidence-based treatment designed to address the underlying thoughts and behaviors that interfere with sleep. Through CBT-I, you can learn to identify and modify the negative patterns that contribute to insomnia.

A typical CBT-I program might include techniques such as:

• Stimulus Control: Creating a strong mental association between your bed and sleep by limiting activities in bed to just sleep and intimacy.

• Sleep Restriction: Limiting time in bed to match actual sleep time, gradually increasing it as sleep efficiency improves.

• Cognitive Restructuring: Challenging and changing unhelpful beliefs about sleep.

If you’re ready to move past sleepless nights and embrace restorative sleep, CBT-I offers a structured and supportive path forward.

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Hi! I’m Tony, a social worker, therapist, and speaker specializing in sleep and sleep troubles. I believe better sleep is the key to better mental health and resilience. Connect with me for more tips and insights on improving sleep and overall well-being.

Book a free initial therapy session: www.quadrawellness.com

Let’s bust some sleep myths! ❌🛌

1. Myth: You Can Catch Up on Sleep During Weekends

Fact: Consistent sleep schedules are crucial. Irregular sleep can disrupt your circadian rhythm.

2. Myth: Alcohol Helps You Sleep

Fact: While alcohol might make you drowsy, it actually disrupts sleep stages, leading to poor-quality sleep.

3. Myth: Everyone Needs 8 Hours of Sleep

Fact: Sleep needs vary. Some people feel great with 7 hours, others might need 9. Listen to your body.

4. Myth: Naps Are Bad for Your Sleep

Fact: Short naps (20-30 minutes) in the early afternoon can be refreshing without affecting nighttime for some people.

Understanding the truth about sleep can help you make better choices and improve your sleep quality. Let’s separate fact from fiction!

Hi! I’m Tony, a social worker, therapist, and speaker specializing in sleep and sleep troubles. I believe better sleep is the key to better mental health and resilience. Connect with me for more tips and insights on improving sleep and overall well-being. Contact me using the link in the first comment.

Many of us experience that sluggish, foggy feeling upon waking, known as sleep inertia. It can last a few minutes to over an hour, impacting our cognitive functions and physical performance. But don’t worry — it might be a natural part of our sleep-wake cycle.

Here's what you need to know about sleep inertia:

1. Causes: Sleep inertia is most intense when you wake up from deep sleep, especially during slow-wave sleep. It can also be exacerbated by sleep deprivation, irregular sleep schedules, and long naps.

2. Identification: If you wake up feeling unusually groggy, confused, or slow to respond, you’re likely experiencing sleep inertia.

3. Management Tips:
- Use a gradual alarm to ease your transition from sleep to wakefulness.
- Maintain a consistent sleep schedule.
- Keep naps short and early in the day.
- Expose yourself to natural light in the morning.
- Start your day with hydration and a healthy breakfast.

It’s important to understand that morning grogginess doesn’t necessarily mean you had poor sleep.

For a more accurate assessment of your sleep quality, consider your daily energy levels, keep a sleep diary, or utilize wearable sleep trackers that can track trends over time.

Still Struggling? Seek Professional Help

If you’re struggling with sleep despite trying various methods, seeking professional help can make a big difference.

As a sleep therapy specialist, I offer personalized CBT-I programs designed to help you achieve better sleep and improve your quality of life. Don’t let sleep problems control your life—take the first step towards restful, rejuvenating sleep today.

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Hi! I'm Tony, a social worker, therapist, and speaker specializing in sleep and sleep troubles. I believe better sleep is the key to better mental health and resilience. Connect with me for more tips and insights on improving sleep and overall well-being.

👉 https://www.quadrawellness.com
👉 on Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube

Struggling with Good Quality Sleep? Let's Discuss and Figure Out the Underlying Issue Struggling with sleep? We can unravel your insomnia together using online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) techniques.

Getting a good night’s sleep is a struggle for many, due to often undiagnosed sleep problems such as sleep apnea. This has a lot of negative effects on the overall mental and physical health.

The article below highlights the link between sleep apnea and its adverse effects on health.

The Link Between Sleep Apnea and Health - Quadra Wellness and Counselling Vancouver and Ontario Discover the link between sleep apnea and health, explore the impact of sleep apnea, and learn how treatment can improve sleep quality.

Struggling with insomnia? 🌙✨

Online sleep therapy might be the support you’ve been looking for. Imagine accessing professional help right from your home, tailored to your unique sleep challenges.

This flexible approach can include personalized cognitive strategies, mindfulness techniques, and practical sleep hygiene advice, all aimed at fostering healthy sleep patterns.

By leveraging technology, online sleep therapy offers convenience and accessibility, making it easier than ever to get the help you need without disrupting your schedule.

If you’re ready to make sleep less scary and trust your body again, online sleep therapy could be your next step!

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Hi! I’m Tony, a social worker, therapist, and speaker specializing in sleep and sleep troubles. I believe better sleep is the key to better mental health and resilience. Connect with me for more tips and insights on improving sleep and overall well-being. Website link in the first comment!

😴 Struggling with Sleep or Anxiety? Try the RAIN Meditation 🌙

If you’re hard on yourself when things get tough—whether it’s dealing with insomnia or anxiety—you’re not alone. The RAIN meditation is a practical tool that can help you respond with kindness when you’re suffering.

As a therapist, I often hear clients say things to themselves they’d never say to others, like “I’m such a failure,” “Why can’t I just get it right?” or “I’m just a bad sleeper.” This harsh self-talk can make sleep problems worse by increasing stress over something that might be out of our direct control, like falling asleep.

Coupled with other strategies, practicing self-compassion can help break the cycle of anxiety and sleepless nights. Imagine responding to your own suffering the way you would to a good friend or someone you care deeply about, rather than the hypercritical coach you disliked in high school.

The RAIN Meditation has four steps:

1. Recognize what’s going on.

• Notice the thoughts, feelings, and sensations that are present. This first step is about becoming aware of what is happening inside you without judgment.

2. Allow the experience to be there.

• Let your thoughts, emotions, or sensations exist without trying to change or avoid them. This means accepting your current reality just as it is.

3. Investigate with kindness.

• Explore your experience with curiosity and care. Ask yourself questions like, “What am I really feeling?” and “What does this feeling need?” This step is about understanding your inner experience more deeply.

4. Natural awareness—not identifying with the experience.

• Shift your perspective to see that you are not your thoughts or emotions. This step helps you cultivate a sense of spaciousness and calm, recognizing that you are more than your current experience.

Practicing RAIN can help you develop a healthier relationship with your thoughts and emotions, easing anxiety and improving sleep.

Give RAIN a try and see the difference it can make.

👋 Hi! I’m Tony, a social worker and sleep therapist. Follow me for more practical, science-backed sleep tips. Visit quadrawellness.com to book a free consultation.

Tomorrow marks the beginning of Daylight Saving Time (DST) ⏰, a timely reminder of the ongoing debate surrounding its usefulness and impact on our lives.

As we "spring forward," it's essential to acknowledge that DST disrupts our circadian rhythms, leading to various health concerns, like fatigue due to additional sleep loss.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) advocates for the adoption of Permanent Standard Time (ST), a practice more in tune with our natural biological clocks.

While we navigate through DST, remember not to stress over the time change too much. Your body will adjust after a few days.

Here are a few tips to manage the transition smoothly:

⏰ Gradually adjust your sleep schedule a few days before the change.

🌞 Expose yourself to natural light in the morning or bright indoor lights to help reset your internal clock.

✅ Maintain consistent sleep habits to support quality rest.

Join the movement toward abolishing DST in favor of a healthier, Permanent Standard Time.

You can learn more and get involved by visiting (https://hubs.la/Q02nrZFd0).

It's time for a change that supports our wellbeing and aligns with human circadian biology.

Ditch Daylight Savings Time - Coalition for Permanent Standard Time The Coalition for Permanent Standard Time (CpST) is a dedicated group of diverse organizations and individuals who support the elimination of biannual clock change in the United States through the restoration of permanent standard time. It’s time to ditch daylight saving time (DST).

If you're sleepy before bed, but your mind is on high alert when your head hits the pillow. This video is for you.

Ever find yourself wide awake at 2 AM, struggling to catch even a wink of sleep? You're not alone. I'm Tony! A therapist with a passion for sleep science and specializes in insomnia treatment.

This video will bridge the gap between a century-old psychological experiment and the modern quest for restful sleep. Discover how Ivan Pavlov's groundbreaking work with dogs can shine a light on our sleep habits and teach us to embrace the night with ease and comfort.

🌙 What You'll Learn:

The essentials of sleep efficiency and its impact on your rest.
How Pavlov's classical conditioning theory applies to our sleep routines.
Practical strategies to transform your bed into a sleep-inducing sanctuary.
Simple yet effective habits to enhance your sleep quality and reduce time spent tossing and turning.

🛌 Key Takeaways:

- Why limiting bed activities can boost your sleep efficiency.
- A pre-sleep routine is important to signal your body it's time to wind down.
- Tips for optimizing your sleep environment for the best possible rest.
- How to deal with restlessness and prevent your bed from becoming a place of wakefulness.

💡 Join the Conversation:
How have you been sleeping? Share your sleep struggles and successes in the comments below. Let's support each other in our journey towards better sleep.

👉 Looking for Personalized Advice?
General tips are a great start, but nothing beats personalized guidance. If you're facing persistent sleep challenges, consider contacting me for a personalized consultation. Together, we can make stressful nights a thing of the past. www.quadrawellness.com

🔔 Stay Connected:

Enjoyed this video? Hit the like button, share with friends and family who might benefit, and follow me for more insightful content on the science of sleep. Every night is a new opportunity to improve your sleep. Be patient, seek support when needed, and remember, let's make sleep less scary.

Here's to better sleep and better health. Goodnight!



https://youtu.be/ZxUCvRs86Ac

Stop Counting Sheep: How Pavlov's Dogs Can Transform Your Sleep Ever find yourself wide awake at 2 AM, struggling to catch even a wink of sleep? You're not alone. I'm Tony! A therapist with a passion for sleep science and...

☀️ Light plays a critical but underrecognized role in maintaining our sleep health and mood - it's not a matter of "good" or "bad," but how much, what type, and when. Here's an article I wrote on why and how you can benefit from managing light exposure.

https://www.quadrawellness.com/blog/why-light-is-so-crucial-to-your-health/

Why Light is So Crucial to Your Health How does light shape your day and night? Sunlight, a seemingly simple element of our daily lives, holds an extraordinary power that significantly impacts our health and well-being. Associate Professor of Clinical Neuroscience at the University of Oxford, Aarti Jagannath, asserts, “Every aspect of ...

Take care of your sleep and reach out for help if you're struggling. Mental health is closely linked to sleep health. You aren't alone! ❤️

https://quadrawellness.medium.com/run-walk-or-roll-moving-your-body-is-key-to-improved-mood-4d9f92bd6dbf

Spring has (mostly) sprung! Here's what I learned from starting a running group in my community and how to get started with a run/walk/roll plan to improve your mood. 🏃‍♀️🧑‍🦽🚶‍♀️

Run, walk, or roll? Moving your body is key to improved mood. When it comes to lifting your mood, medication alone is often not enough

Thanks Roy and Rachel from the Family 360 Podcast! A great chat on healthy sleep, managing worries, and letting go.

INSOMNIA
Insomnia affects 40% of adults and we can lie awake worrying about having it!
Cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia is the recommended route to restore sleep patterns for people struggling with insomnia and in this episode sleep specialist Tony Ho describes how CBTI can realign our relationship with sleep.

Family 360 Podcast
Quadra Wellness and Counselling Vancouver

I connected with Dr. Ostrin, the lead of this study, who recommended these affordable, but highly effective glasses that can be worn two hours before bed to reduce the impact of blue light on melatonin (the sleepy hormone): https://amzn.to/32tHhXu

https://uh.edu/news-events/stories/2017/july/07242017bluelight.php

Allowing melatonin to rise naturally will not make you sleep, you still need to reduce worry and effort over sleep (therapy helps with this), but being mindful of light at night can help improve the overall quality of sleep.

Artificial Light From Digital Devices Lessens Sleep Quality University of Houston - News:

Is your mind especially noisy at night, right when your head hits the pillow? Here’s a simple and effective cognitive strategy that can help you quiet your mind and get to (or back to) sleep. 😴 🛌

https://quadrawellness.medium.com/how-to-manage-worries-so-you-can-sleep-better-tonight-f2b798050207

How to Manage Worries So You Can Sleep Better Tonight We’ve all got something to worry about at one point or another. Whether it be about that exam you’re taking tomorrow, your child’s health…

Hi everyone! 👋 I am excited to announce the pre-registration for my six-week sleep wellness program: Good Nights, Better Days.

This sleep coaching program is based on the proven Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia model, considered the best first-line treatment for insomnia, along with other effective strategies and techniques I teach in my one-on-one work to help people get back to trusting their bodies and sleeping well again.

The six-week course contains short, accessible articles, video lessons and action items to help you learn about insomnia and how to shift away from unhelpful thoughts and behaviours that may be preventing you from getting the sleep you need to feel your best.

For any new and current subscribers to email updates, I’m offering the first round of this program for a significantly reduced rate of $100, and the waitlist closes on Wednesday, June 30th. Spaces are limited and the price will go to $499 on August 1st, 2021.

As the world starts to reopen, don’t let any new or worsened sleep problems follow you into it. 😴

Check out the link for more information and to register. DM me if you have any questions at all.

Please share with any friends or clients that might be struggling with insomnia. 🙇

Good Nights, Better Days – Online Natural Sleep Program Good Nights, Better Days Learn how to stop the sleep struggle with proven psychological and behavioural strategies and finally get the sleep you need to feel, think, and perform your best. Get on the waitlist Better Sleep Starts Here Are you struggling with sleep and feeling exhausted during the day...

You don’t always know what someone is carrying. Kindness is king!

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