The reason is I don’t have a bedtime. Between 12 and 2 is the norm, but any time 6 hours either side isn’t unusual.

Here’s a video by Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project, with a challenge to take bedtimes seriously.

She expands on the video at Psych Central, with 7 tips for getting to bed “on time”.

• Give yourself a specific bedtime (really, it’s the key)
• Don’t wait until you’re sleepy
• Stay away from the internet for at least an hour beforehand
• No caffeine for several hours beforehand (that’s 8 hrs for me)
• Remind yourself how great it feels to wake up naturally
• Get ready for bed well ahead of time
• Create a bedtime ritual that you do every night.

To read the reasoning for each visit the Psych Central post.

Why am I writing about this? Because getting enough sleep is just about the best thing you can do for your mental health.

I’m using reminders on my phone to tell me to go to bed – at the same time each night. 3 nights so far and it’s working.

Is happiness the goal of life? Personally I don’t think so – my Christian faith points me elsewhere – but there is a big overlap between what makes us happy and what is useful for dealing with mental illness. So I find research on happiness to be helpful.

Following on from the Happiness Advantage post, YES! Magazine has an article about the 10 Things Science Says Will Make You Happy. In summary they are:

• Savor everyday moments
• Avoid comparisons with others
• Put money low on the list
• Have meaningful goals
• Take initiative at work
• Make friends and treasure family
• Smile even when you don’t feel like it
• Say thank you like you mean it
• Exercise
• Donate or spend money on others

Read the 10 Things post for the fleshed out details.

These things are easier said than done, even when you’re well, but I think it’s a good purposeful list of things for the mental health toolbox.

I’ve been listening to “The Happiness Advantage” audiobook for about a year now. I’m a very slow listener, but it’s an excellent “read”. Shaun Achor’s basic premise is that our formula for happiness is backwards. If we work hard then we’ll be more successful, and if we’re more successful then we’ll be happy. The problem with this, he argues, is that once we’re more successful we move the goalposts.

If you’d like a 12 minute summary – rather than the book or 7 hour audio – then the talk below is for you. It’s well worth watching for its interesting, research-backed findings, and for Shaun Achor’s wicked sense of humor.

There is a full blog post on the talk at Holistic with Humor.

Cure Together has just released the latest in its series of survey-based health infographics. Over 200 people with bipolar rated 31 treatments, with the results presented in a grid of effectiveness vs popularity. Crowd-sourcing at its best!

The overall top 10 are:

1. Regimented sleep schedule
2. Exercise
3. Reduce alcohol
4. Yoga
5. Mindfulness meditation
6. Lamictal
7. Sunlight
8. Psychotherapy
9. Self-tracking
10. Small, frequent meals

I was aware of the first 9, but what’s with small, frequent meals?

Interesting that there is only one medicine on the list, with respondents rating most of the others as ineffective.

See the full results on the CureTogether Blog.

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time you’ll know that I struggle with exercise on a daily basis. OK, hands up…who else?

There is a yawning big gap in the market for a CBT therapist to specialize in exercise. Or at least overcoming the mental obstacles that prevent exercise. My recent post Psychologists Therapy Treats Mind and Body pointed to one such therapist who combines psychotherapy and fitness sessions. It’s a close match, although he doesn’t necessarily focus on a mind-exercise problem, as much as provide a treatment solution.

Despite my finely tuned powers of search I’ve only found one research paper on CBT and exercise: “Physical Activity in Women: Effects of a Self-Regulation Intervention.”

The paper’s conclusion is positive:

“…this study provides evidence that cognitive–behavioral strategies help women be more physically active. The self-regulation technique—mental contrasting with implementation intentions—was effective for initiating and maintaining behavior change. It is a low-cost intervention component that requires only a single session to learn the technique. People can then apply the technique on their own.”

That’s my kind of technique.

The conclusion is a no-brainer. The interesting thing to me is the technique used.

By way of summary, participants in the self-intervention group made diary entries and mental notes each day on the following:

• their most important current wish regarding physical activity
• the most positive outcome of realizing their wish and events and experiences they associated with this positive outcome
• the most critical obstacle together with events and experiences they associated with this obstacle
• three implementation intentions with the following questions:
  - When and where does the obstacle occur, and what can I do to overcome or circumvent the obstacle?
  - When and where is an opportunity to prevent the obstacle from occurring, and what can I do to prevent it from occurring?
  - When and where is a good opportunity for me to act on my wish, and what would this action be?

If you’re interested you can download a PDF of the research paper.