Trouble Sleeping?

by | Jul 26, 2025 | Uncategorized

How ACT Can Help You Sleep Better

If you’ve ever found yourself lying awake at night, stuck in a spiral of anxious thoughts, you’re not alone. Sleep issues are incredibly common—and frustrating. But what if the answer isn’t forcing yourself to sleep, but learning to stop fighting with your mind?

That’s where Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) comes in.

ACT is an evidence-based approach that doesn’t try to eliminate negative thoughts. Instead, it helps you change your relationship with those thoughts. For people struggling with insomnia or restless nights, this can be a game changer.  This is research to back this up.

Why Sleep Problems Persist

Often, the more you try to force sleep, the more elusive it becomes. You worry about not sleeping. You try to “clear your mind.” You lie in bed judging yourself for still being awake. This struggle creates tension—and tension is the enemy of sleep.

How ACT Helps

ACT teaches skills that directly address this cycle:

  • Acceptance: Instead of trying to suppress your thoughts (“I can’t stop thinking!”), ACT helps you allow them to come and go without getting hooked.

  • Defusion: You learn to step back from your thoughts, seeing them as mental events—not facts.

  • Present-Moment Awareness: Mindfulness practices help you shift attention from racing thoughts to what’s actually happening in your body and environment.

  • Values-Based Action: Rather than letting sleep struggles control your day, ACT helps you live in line with your values—even when you’re tired.

ACT for Sleep: What It Looks Like

In therapy, we might explore your nighttime thought patterns, work on mindfulness exercises, and help you develop a more compassionate internal dialogue. You’ll learn tools to stop fighting with sleep—and start creating conditions that support it.

Over time, this approach can help reduce the anxiety and frustration around bedtime and allow your natural sleep rhythm to return.

Want to learn more? If you’re in the Santa Cruz, Soquel, Aptos, or Scotts Valley area and are looking for a therapist who uses evidence-based practices like ACT to support better sleep and emotional wellbeing, feel free to reach out.