[azulknight]

Until the last couple of months, I’ve never had an issue with sleep. I would lay down and fall asleep in a normal timeframe without much thought. Unfortunately, I had a few nights of limited sleep, which led me on a path of thinking about my sleep. As many of your are probably all too aware, as I started thinking about my sleep the more elusive it became. Now, I’m having issues with initial sleep onset (I’ve stayed up the majority of a few nights) and I’m curious if there are any dependable techniques I could adopt to get back to my carefree slumbers.

[Chee2308]

My advice is go to bed after spending at least 17-18 hours awake. This is what I do and it works every single time. If you have had inconsistent sleep times due to your struggles with sleep, it might take a while for your body to adjust but waking up at a certain time will fix this. Having total confidence in your ability to sleep naturally and only going to bed when sleepy, i.e. after being awake for 17-18 hours are all that are needed to sleeping well again.

[Martin Reed]

As suggested by Chee, a good starting point might be making sure you aren’t allotting too much time for sleep since that can lead to us going to bed before we are sleepy enough for sleep (this means it will take longer to fall asleep) and it can generate more nighttime wakefulness. This sleep disruption can then, in turn, lead to more thinking and worrying about sleep and that can perpetuate our sleep difficulties.

You might find the sleep restriction resource page a good place to start — if you have any specific questions, please let us know!

—

If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.

The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.

[Author]

Posts