[Sarah842]

Hi all, I am attempting sleep restriction after 1 month of severe insomnia (only sleeping 1-2 hours after the sun rises)

Although I have had insomnia for over 11 years, it has always resolved after a day or two but this time it has continued and developed into a phobia each time I get in bed.

I could be relaxed and ready for sleep but as soon as I turn off the light and lie down, my heart races, I start sweating and I have a terrible feeling of tension in my chest which is keeping me awake no matter how tired or sleepy I am. It is so unbearable eventually I am crying out and leaping out of bed now wide awake.

It doesn’t seem to matter how little sleep I have had over the last few days. The sleep drive just doesn’t seem to be there because I am too wound up and anxious about it.

Should I persist? I’ve tried so many relaxation tips when getting into bed. By the time by body has relaxed usually after 3 hours if I’m lucky my mind is racing at such a speed I cannot fall asleep despite my body wanting sleep and being unable to keep my eyes open. I end up then drifting off for maybe 1 hour before my alarm goes off. It’s causing me a lot of distress and I feel awful with anxiety all day, I can’t think about anything else. Has anybody been through similar and got through it?

Thank you

[Scott]

Hi @Sarah842

Welcome to the forum! When we begin associating our bed with restlessness and poor sleep, it can perpetuate the issue and cause us to become highly aroused as bedtime approaches. When you’re unable to go to bed and fall asleep, do you continue to lie there frustrated or do you get out of bed to do something more enjoyable? Since we can train our bed to associate our bed with poor sleep, we can also untrain it by removing yourself from what’s causing the anxiety (bed) and doing something more relaxing (watch tv, listen to a podcast, etc) and only returning to bed when you’re sleepy.

What time is your current sleep restricted window? Are you going to bed and getting out of bed in the morning to start your day consistently every day? A goal of implementing a sleep restriction window is to build a strong sleep drive that has an ability to override your arousal system at night so it’s important to commit to a consistent schedule, even on the weekend.

Scott J

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[Chee2308]

Hello Sarah
I find not caring how you sleep and being okay with wakefulness is key to overcoming sleep anxiety issues such as these. Can not sleeping actually hurt you? Are you in immediate danger if you can’t sleep? The answer is no! Being in immediate danger means being chased by a lion, standing on a high rise’s edge with no protection and things like that. Are any of these things happening? No, it’s just not sleeping. It can’t hurt you. Nothing happens if you don’t sleep for a day or two. Every time you get anxious about not sleeping, don’t fight it and just let it come. Challenge it to cause some kind of hurt to you and most likely, it won’t because there’s NO danger! Over time, your body will start to relax until if you find yourself not sleeping in bed, it doesn’t bother you anymore. You can just rest in bed until natural sleep takes over. This is what normal sleepers do, not being afraid of not sleeping while in bed. You absolutely have what it takes to be a normal sleeper again, once you realise there’s no danger and start adopting a non-caring attitude over sleep. Hope this helps and good luck!

[jaylogan]

Hello,
I found that when i try too hard to sleep, it worked against me, by building up more anxiety. I would feel very sleepy and yet when i decide to drift, anxiety would build up and few minutes later i would be very alert (and frustrated). For some reason they call it an arousal – i wish.

What worked for me is to not forcing the issue and take focus away from not being able to sleep.

hth
-jlogan

[Author]

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