A stimulus is anything that causes a response.  The goal of this method is for you to have a positive response when you get into bed at night.  It is used for people who toss and turn in bed, unable to fall asleep.  When this happens for many nights, you begin to get frustrated.  You may even dread bedtime, expecting to toss and turn for hours.  Bedtime and even your bed itself are causing you to have a negative response.

This method teaches you to use the bed only for sleep and for sex.  You are not to read, watch TV, or do anything else in bed.  You are also taught to go to bed only when you feel very sleepy.  If you are not asleep after about 20 minutes, then you are to get out of bed to do something else relaxing.  When you feel sleepy again, then you return to bed.

Over time, this method helps you fall asleep more quickly after you get into bed.  You begin to have a positive response toward going to bed at night.  Instead of being frustrating, it becomes relaxing and restful.

04/2008  Content reviewed by Richard Parisi, MD