[craig50]

dont get in bed until you are sleepy and this does work

[PattyD]

Sometimes I'm sleepy but my body is too tired from my day and it takes longer to fall asleep,

[rjsf]

But if I wait to get sleepy then I'll never get in bed?

[craig50]

dont go to bed until you are sleepy.

[rjsf]

It may never happen 😛

[rjsf]

I get it now! This was the last piece of the puzzle for me!

You will become sleepy at some point depending on your circadian clock. Insomnia happens when you “try” to sleep and your body is not ready yet. Then you become anxious and the anxiety makes you unable to sleep even when the time comes. Going to bed only when you are sleepy reduces the chance of anxiety setting in.

I've been doing well with Sleep restriction therapy, but I relapse every couple of weeks and now I think I know the reason why: there are times I try to initiate sleep when the body is far from ready to sleep and anxiety sets in.

[Kenny]

'craig50' wrote:

dont get in bed until you are sleepy and this does work

This absolutely does not work.

[Kenny]

'rjsf' wrote:

I get it now! This was the last piece of the puzzle for me!

You will become sleepy at some point depending on your circadian clock. Insomnia happens when you “try” to sleep and your body is not ready yet. Then you become anxious and the anxiety makes you unable to sleep even when the time comes. Going to bed only when you are sleepy reduces the chance of anxiety setting in.

I've been doing well with Sleep restriction therapy, but I relapse every couple of weeks and now I think I know the reason why: there are times I try to initiate sleep when the body is far from ready to sleep and anxiety sets in.

I get mad at this kind of answer because it's a one-size-fits-all approach and assumes everyone is the same way.

For some of us, we get incredibly sleepy at night. For me, I can't keep my eyes open and can't stop yawning and could not be sleepier. But the second I lie down, I have an adrenaline surge and then my heartbeat goes up to 120 bpm and I'm not sleepy for the rest of the night.

Sleep restriction therapy assumes everyone tries to go to bed before their sleepy. It's a poor approach and leaves the rest of us feeling like outcasts.

[Kenny]

For anyone else with a similar issue where you feel incredibly sleepy but can't sleep, I've been having some luck with going to bed much earlier…before I'm sleepy…and then reading for a while before attempting to sleep. Something about being in bed while I get sleepy really helps.

[Author]

Posts