📝 Worksheet 3.4: My Sleep-Effort and Nighttime Script Map

Private Participant Worksheet

This worksheet is private by default. You are not required to upload it, share it with a group, or disclose personal medical information.

This exercise does not diagnose or treat insomnia or another sleep disorder. Its purpose is to help you notice sleep effort, identify the sentences that increase nighttime alarm, welcome Scripture without spiritual pressure, and choose one faithful step.

Complete only the sections that are helpful and appropriate for you.

Movement One: Pause and Pray

Before analyzing your sleep, become present before God.

Sit or lie in a reasonably comfortable position. Allow your breathing to find its natural rhythm. You do not have to force yourself to relax.

Place your feet on the floor or notice the surface supporting your body.

Pray:

Lord Jesus, I bring you my whole organic life—my body, thoughts, emotions, relationships, responsibilities, fears, and hopes.

Help me notice my sleep pattern without shame. I do not have to solve every sleep problem in this moment. I do not have to produce a particular feeling or sleep outcome.

Holy Spirit, lead me into truth, wisdom, and appropriate care. Amen.

My Present Condition

Right now, I notice:

In my body:

In my thoughts:

In my emotions:

In my surroundings:

Complete this sentence:

I can become curious about my sleep pattern without condemning myself because:

Movement Two: Notice and Name

Part One: My Sleep-Effort Pattern

Sleep effort occurs when sleep becomes a task that you believe must be accomplished through force, monitoring, checking, or control.

Place a check beside any pattern you sometimes experience.

Before Bed

☐ I begin worrying about sleep hours before bedtime.

☐ I try to determine whether I feel sleepy enough.

☐ I become anxious when my evening routine is not perfect.

☐ I believe one mistake will ruin the entire night.

☐ I cancel activities mainly because I fear they may interfere with sleep.

☐ I search repeatedly for new sleep advice.

☐ I feel pressure to complete every sleep practice correctly.

☐ I go to bed much earlier because I am afraid I will not sleep.

☐ I try to solve tomorrow’s problems before allowing myself to rest.

☐ I compare my sleep with another person’s sleep.

In Bed

☐ I repeatedly check the clock.

☐ I calculate how many hours remain.

☐ I test whether a breathing or relaxation exercise is working.

☐ I command myself to stop thinking.

☐ I change positions repeatedly while searching for the perfect one.

☐ I become angry with my body.

☐ I treat each awakening as an emergency.

☐ I use prayer mainly to make sleep happen immediately.

☐ I repeat Scripture with increasing pressure.

☐ I search online for reassurance during the night.

☐ I predict that tomorrow will be ruined.

☐ I remain in bed for a long time while becoming increasingly frustrated.

The Following Morning

☐ I label the entire night a failure.

☐ I assume I will be unable to function.

☐ I replay the night repeatedly.

☐ I carefully monitor every sign of tiredness.

☐ I blame myself for not sleeping better.

☐ I interpret poor sleep as weak faith.

☐ I spend much longer in bed trying to recover sleep.

☐ I abandon the entire day because the night was difficult.

What I Notice

The sleep-effort behaviors I use most often are:

These behaviors are understandable attempts to:

☐ Prevent exhaustion

☐ Protect my work or responsibilities

☐ Avoid embarrassment

☐ Maintain control

☐ Protect my health

☐ Prevent anxiety

☐ Prove that I am doing everything correctly

☐ Demonstrate strong faith

☐ Avoid another difficult night

☐ Something else:

Part Two: My Nighttime Script

A nighttime script is the conversation you carry into bed or experience when you awaken.

Write the exact sentences that commonly enter your mind.

What I Say About Sleep

Examples:

• “I must fall asleep now.”

• “I need exactly eight hours.”

• “This night is already ruined.”

My sleep sentences:

What I Predict About Tomorrow

Examples:

• “I will not be able to function.”

• “I will embarrass myself.”

• “Everyone will notice how tired I am.”

My predictions:

What I Say About Myself

Examples:

• “Something is wrong with me.”

• “I am failing.”

• “Other people can sleep, but I cannot.”

My self-conversation:

What I Say About God or Faith

Examples:

• “God is not helping me.”

• “A faithful Christian should be able to sleep.”

• “If I pray correctly, sleep must come.”

My spiritual nighttime sentences:

Part Three: What Is Beneath the Script?

Sometimes the visible fear is, “I will not sleep.”

A deeper fear may be:

• I will lose control.

• I will fail tomorrow.

• I will disappoint someone.

• I will become seriously ill.

• I will be unable to care for someone.

• I will be rejected.

• I will not be safe.

• I will never sleep normally again.

• God has forgotten me.

• I must remain watchful.

Complete this sentence:

When I am afraid that I will not sleep, I may also be afraid that:

The responsibility or concern I may be trying to solve during the night is:

What part of this concern genuinely needs attention?

What part does not have to be solved tonight?

Part Four: Name the Type of Sleep Block

My wakefulness may include more than sleep effort. Place a check beside anything that may deserve attention.

☐ Worry or rumination

☐ Fear of sleeplessness

☐ Relational conflict

☐ Bitterness or anger

☐ Grief or loneliness

☐ Trauma-related vigilance

☐ Caregiving responsibilities

☐ Work schedule or shift work

☐ Noise, heat, crowding, or unsafe surroundings

☐ Pain or illness

☐ Medication or substance concerns

☐ Hormonal or life-stage changes

☐ Loud snoring, choking, gasping, or breathing pauses

☐ Uncomfortable urges to move my legs

☐ Severe daytime sleepiness

☐ Another concern:

The most important truth I need to acknowledge is:

This may not be only a mindset problem. The concern that may require practical, relational, pastoral, or professional attention is:

Movement Three: Welcome Scripture and the Holy Spirit

Part One: Choose a Scripture-Shaped Truth

Read the following passages and choose one that speaks truth without becoming a demand that you fall asleep.

Psalm 4:8

“In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep, for you alone, Yahweh, make me live in safety.”

Psalm 121:3–4

“He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”

Matthew 11:28

“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Romans 8:1

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.”

1 Peter 5:7

“Casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you.”

The Scripture I choose is:

This passage tells me that God is:

This passage tells me that I may:

This passage does not require me to:

Part Two: Replace Pressure With Truth

Choose one nighttime sentence from your script.

My Alarm-Producing Sentence

Ask:

• Is this sentence completely true?

• Is it a prediction rather than a fact?

• Does it turn sleep into a performance?

• Does it treat wakefulness as an emergency?

• Does it place spiritual condemnation on me?

• Is there a bodily or practical concern that requires help?

Now write a sentence that is truthful, compassionate, and grounded in Scripture.

My Scripture-Shaped Night Sentence

Examples:

“Sleep matters, but one difficult night does not determine my future.”

“I can prepare wisely without forcing sleep.”

“Tomorrow may be harder, but it is not automatically ruined.”

“My wakefulness is not condemnation.”

“Christ is present whether I sleep now or remain awake for a time.”

“God remains watchful, so I do not have to remain vigilant over everything.”

My sentence:

Keep the sentence short enough to remember. It is not a formula that must make sleep happen. It is a way of telling the truth in God’s presence.

Part Three: A Prayer of Release

Complete the prayer in your own words.

Lord Jesus, I want to sleep, and I bring that desire honestly to you.

The unfinished concern I am carrying is:

The outcome I have been trying to control is:

The fear beneath my sleep struggle is:

What I will address tomorrow, with your help, is:

What I release for tonight is:

Holy Spirit, help me receive quiet wakefulness without panic. Keep Scripture from becoming another performance. Lead me toward wise help where help is needed. Amen.

Movement Four: One Faithful Step

Build My Personal PEACE Practice

PEACE is not a guarantee that you will fall asleep. It is a practice for reducing unnecessary struggle and remaining present to God.

P: Prepare the Body and Place

Choose one or two realistic supports.

☐ Lower unnecessary light.

☐ Put my phone out of immediate reach.

☐ Attend to reasonable physical comfort.

☐ Complete basic hygiene.

☐ Take prescribed medication as directed.

☐ Address reasonable safety needs.

☐ Choose a quiet hymn, Psalm, or adult lullaby.

☐ Write down tomorrow’s essential task.

☐ Use another realistic support:

My preparation will remain simple because:

E: Entrust Unfinished Things

The matter I will place before God is:

My written reminder for tomorrow is:

My release sentence is:

“Lord, this is unfinished, but it does not all have to be solved tonight.”

My personal version:

A: Attend Without Alarm

When I notice wakefulness, I will name what is happening.

Examples:

• “This is worry.”

• “This is frustration.”

• “This is fear of tomorrow.”

• “This is sleep effort.”

• “This may be physical discomfort.”

• “This concern may need professional attention.”

My naming sentence:

“This is ________________________________________________.”

The bodily sensation I can notice without immediately declaring danger is:

The behavior I will try to reduce is:

☐ Clock-checking

☐ Hour calculations

☐ Online searching

☐ Repeated technique switching

☐ Forcing relaxation

☐ Catastrophic predictions

☐ Another behavior:

C: Call Scripture, Prayer, and Song Into the Night

I will choose one gentle practice rather than rapidly trying many techniques.

☐ Repeat one short Scripture.

☐ Pray one honest prayer.

☐ Name three quiet gratitudes.

☐ Listen to a familiar hymn.

☐ Use a simple breath prayer.

☐ Receive silence without trying to control it.

☐ Another practice:

The Scripture, prayer, or song I choose is:

I will remember:

This practice welcomes God’s presence. It does not obligate my body to fall asleep immediately.

E: Ease Out of Effort

Choose or write one release statement.

☐ I do not have to produce sleep.

☐ I can prepare wisely without forcing an outcome.

☐ I can allow quiet wakefulness without declaring an emergency.

☐ God remains with me.

☐ My worth is not measured by tonight’s sleep.

☐ I can seek qualified help without shame.

My personal statement:

When I am fully awake for an extended period, I may consider a calm, low-stimulation activity away from the bed when it is safe and physically appropriate for me. I will return gently when sleepiness grows.

This is a general educational principle, not an individualized CBT-I prescription.

My One Faithful Step

I do not need to change everything tonight.

The one practice I will try during the coming week is:

I will practice it:

☐ Before bed

☐ When I awaken during the night

☐ The following morning

☐ When worry about sleep begins during the day

The person who may appropriately support me is:

The medical or professional question I may need to ask is:

Help and Referral Check

Consider contacting a qualified healthcare professional when sleep problems are persistent, worsening, or interfering with daytime functioning.

Seek prompt evaluation when concerns include:

• Loud, persistent snoring

• Witnessed breathing pauses

• Choking or gasping during sleep

• Severe daytime sleepiness

• Drowsy driving

• Persistent pain

• Uncomfortable urges to move the legs

• Recurrent nightmares or trauma-related awakenings

• Sudden major sleep changes

• Significant medication or substance concerns

• Severe or worsening mood symptoms

• A greatly reduced need for sleep with unusual energy, agitation, impulsivity, or risky behavior

Do not stop prescribed medication, change medication timing, stop using CPAP or another prescribed device, or begin a supplement based on this worksheet.

My next appropriate support or referral step, when needed, is:

My Topic 3 Portfolio Statements

My Sleep-Effort Pattern

I tend to increase sleep effort by:

My Nighttime Alarm Sentence

At night, I often tell myself:

My Scripture-Shaped Replacement Sentence

I am learning to say:

My PEACE Practice

When sleep does not come, I will prepare, entrust, attend, call upon God, and ease out of effort by:

My Final Declaration

Sleep is important, but it is not my master. I can support my organic body, tell the truth about my fears, welcome Scripture and the Holy Spirit, seek appropriate help, and release the sleep outcome to Jesus Christ.

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you that my sleep struggle is not hidden from you.

Help me recognize when wise preparation has become anxious effort. Teach me to notice my thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations, circumstances, and fears without condemnation.

Where I have treated wakefulness as an emergency, lead me toward truth. Where a physical, emotional, relational, environmental, or medical concern requires attention, give me courage to seek appropriate help.

Holy Spirit, bring Scripture into my nighttime conversation without turning it into another technique I must perform correctly. Help me prepare wisely, entrust unfinished matters, attend without alarm, call upon God, and ease out of effort.

I cannot command the moment when sleep comes. I place this night and tomorrow in the care of Jesus Christ.

Amen.