To regain peaceful nights, one must stop comparing their current sleep to an ideal of the past and instead relearn how to trust their natural ability to recover, as good sleep does not need to be perfect.

noli's read

This advice highlights a key aspect of behavioral support: the restructuring of thoughts regarding sleep difficulties. Scientific research widely validates this approach, targeting what it calls unrealistic beliefs about sleep. A meta-analysis by Thakral et al. (2020), combining 16 randomized controlled trials, demonstrates that working on these beliefs helps to durably reduce anxiety related to the pillow. Furthermore, a randomized trial by Alessi (2021) shows that freeing oneself from the expectation of perfect sleep is directly linked to a decrease in fatigue and better physical fitness during the day. The focus on rebuilding confidence, rather than on nocturnal performance, is also at the heart of sleep acceptance practices, the efficacy of which is well documented. No exaggeration is to be noted here; this message is perfectly aligned with the evidence-based data on the psychology of rest.

the sources

No named source held this one up — that absence is part of the verdict.