Interview with Alvaro Ruiz de Ocenda: Mindfulness to combat insomnia

Psychologist Álvaro Ruiz de Ocenda talks to us about the potential of Mindfulness for insomnia.

Sleep problems are one of the most common health disorders, and in fact it is estimated that one in two adults will develop insomnia at some point during the year.

Fortunately, in the field of psychology, procedures have been developed to help prevent and combat this kind of discomfort. Mindfulness is an example of this.

Although it is inspired by the millenary vipassana meditation originated in the region of India, Mindfulness, also known as Mindfulness, is considered a therapeutic resource designed through non-religious but scientific procedures, as it is made thinking about its objective effects on the body and human behavior. Here we will know its potential to help people with insomnia from the hand of an expert on the subject: the psychologist Alvaro Ruiz de Ocenda..

Álvaro Ruiz de Ocenda: applying Mindfulness to the problems of insomnia

Álvaro Ruiz de Ocenda is a psychologist with more than two decades of professional experience in this field. Being based in Vitoria, he currently directs the psychotherapy center Psikonet, and stands out as an expert in Mindfulness as a therapist and trainer. That is why he frequently organizes and teaches courses of Mindfulness applied to areas of life such as stress management and mitigation and prevention of insomnia problems, among others.

On this occasion, we spoke with this psychologist about this last facet of Mindfulness, the potential of Mindfulness as a resource to combat insomnia, a topic on which he organizes an online course in real time to be held from October 2 to November 20 through the Chamber Business School of the Chamber of Alava: "Mindfulness for Insomnia (MPI)".

Can Mindfulness be applied to oneself without the need to dedicate oneself to this field professionally?

Of course, indeed, in my opinion this is the right order to get started in this valuable approach. Personal experience and contact with colleagues in psychology tells me that although we have more knowledge of psychopathology and various therapeutic models, we are subjected to various challenges in life that make us suffer as much or more than people who are not dedicated to the field of the helping relationship.

Thus, to the extent that I experience as a person advances in my life such as greater awareness, less reactivity, greater connection with my body, with others and with the environment, I can then pass it on to my patients.

Approaching this perspective as if it were just a set of techniques to be applied does not provide greater effectiveness; approaching it with a curious spirit and experiencing it makes it easier to radiate this perspective.

In fact, the creators of the MBCT program (Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy to prevent relapse in depression) found that until they incorporated the Mindfulness approach (daily meditation, acceptance, various daily practices) into their lives, their program was no more effective than the others. When they committed to their practice, the program became the program of choice for depression relapse.

What aspects of Mindfulness do you think make it a valuable therapeutic resource for helping people with sleep disorders?

Insomnia is a problem that involves several aspects of life: difficulty falling asleep or sleeping in a row, the worries associated with poor rest (believing that something is wrong with the brain) and the impact of day-to-day challenges, such as fatigue and feelings of low energy or irritability, among others.

Through strategies based on Mindfulness, we can intervene in the thoughts that have to do with sleep, such as expectations or beliefs associated with rest, and also relate better with the thoughts that come to our mind at night. In this sense, one of the thoughts that keeps us away from sleep is precisely saying to ourselves: "I have to sleep, I have to sleep" because it creates more frustration.

In addition, with the practice of Mindfulness exercises, we will lower the level of physical and mental activation, favoring sleep to arise.

Is Mindfulness an effective help to get rid of those thoughts that haunt us and when we are in bed remind us again and again the problems we have to face and the obligations we must fulfill?

My experience teaching Mindfulness courses for insomnia tells me that without a doubt, people who are committed to the activities proposed during the course notice that they "fight" less with their thoughts, or that they do not get "entangled" so easily with them. Thoughts will continue to come to our mind, but we train the ability to observe them and let them pass. And it works.

While we are in bed, if for reasons of work or various demands we remember things to do the next day, it may be helpful to have a notebook at hand in which we will write down the pending task, and so we can pay attention to breathing or other aspects of reality more conducive to rest. And if thoughts keep appearing over and over again, we will deal with them in the sessions, in the space provided for this purpose.

Could you give an example of a Mindfulness exercise used to combat insomnia, even in a summarized way?

In the Mindfulness for Insomnia program, traditional practices very similar to the other Mindfulness programs are performed, such as attention to breathing, body sensations, conscious movements...

The more specific aspects come from the application of such meditations to the act of resting, how to prepare the moment of sleeping in the best way. The practice of mindfulness of breathing is a meditation that can be performed anywhere, and certainly in the case of insomnia, also in bed.

Here, in addition to techniques based on Mindfulness, strategies that have to do with the cognitive-behavioral model are implemented, such as sleep recording, sleep reconditioning, or sleep hygiene for a good rest, and many others.

Once you have begun to incorporate Mindfulness into your daily routines, how do the first improvements in terms of sleep quality and ease of sleep become apparent?

At first, you stop perceiving the bed as a battlefield into which I am going to enter; it encourages you to pay attention to what is happening as if it were the first time, and you tend to make interesting discoveries.

Afterwards, the feeling that "I have something broken in my brain" is often eliminated and confidence in our sleep regulatory system is promoted; the body is wiser than the expectations we have of it. And without a doubt, the most important change is that we rest better and learn to relate better to sleep-related ideas.

As the program progresses, changes are introduced in the routines that have to do with sleep, and that sometimes are perpetuating factors of bad sleep habits. And here the quality and quantity of sleep increases.

Note: More information about the course "Mindfulness for Insomnia (MPI)" is available on the website of the Chamber of Alava: http://www.camaradealava.com/es/areas/formacion/formacion/mindfulnes-para-el-insomio-mpi-escuela-virtual--/845/2/2