Mind supported self-help practitioner Helen Macleod said the workshops came about after it became clear that sleep was a major problem for many people.
‘We recognised that there was a bit of a gap, so having something focused on sleep would be really beneficial,’ she said.
Everyone who signs up is asked to attend two workshops, a week apart.
The groups are small, and at the first one various strategies are discussed that might help.
Gavin – who asked not to give his surname – went along to one of the workshops after constantly waking up in the middle of the night and being unable to fall asleep again.
‘A lot of what we discussed is common sense, but you don’t think about it at two in the morning,’ he said.
‘One of the worst things you can do is lay there trying to get to sleep again.
'Get up for 10 minutes, do the dishes, do something that doesn’t stimulate you any further.
‘The workshops are delivered in such a calm, relaxing, friendly way. It’s not like being in a classroom.’
Mrs Macleod said people were also advised how to prepare for bed.
‘We try to get people to start preparing for sleep earlier in the evening, to make it more of a routine that they start preparing for two or three hours before.
‘I think people find that quite helpful, so they’re calming themselves and relaxing themselves to get ready to go to bed.’
Gavin added that avoiding devices and certain TV programmes could help: ‘Game of Thrones probably isn’t the best thing to be watching before you go to sleep,’ he said.
For anyone waking up, it was important to avoid doing things like checking work emails or ‘doom scrolling’ social media, said Mrs Macleod.
After completing both parts of the workshop, people are asked to fill in a feedback form and she said that the majority of those who took part said their sleep had improved.
The plan for the workshops was devised by psychological therapist Jill Paine, who has worked for Guernsey Mind as a cognitive analytic therapist.
‘Sleep is such a huge problem, and it affects every part of our well-being, whether it’s our physical functioning, our emotional functioning or cognitive functioning. It impacts across our lives and our relationships,’ she said.
There are new sleep workshops in September and November and anyone interested in signing up can find out more at the Guernsey Mind website, guernseymind.org.gg.
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