[Mint2]

Every night I am very sleepy and can easily dose off on the sofa. But the minute I go to bed I get anxious and loose my sleep. I have tried breathing techniques but it doesn’t help always.

[Martin Reed]

Welcome to the forum, and I am sorry to hear about your struggles with sleep. Your experience is very common and suggests that you have associated the bed with anxiety and wakefulness rather than relaxation and sleep. This can happen when we repeatedly experience poor sleep when in bed, and is completely understandable.

The solution is to change this learned association and to — once again — make the bed a strong trigger for sleep by associating it with sleep, and nothing else.

This is typically achieved in two ways. First, it’s usually a good idea to reduce the amount of time you spend in bed and allot for sleep to more closely match your average nightly sleep duration. Secondly, when you are in bed and can’t sleep, it’s usually best to get out of bed until you feel sleepy again, then get back into bed to repeat the process.

Eventually, sleep pressure will build and reach a point that forces sleep. When you follow these techniques, you will be in bed when you sleep and out of bed when you are awake. Over time, this will help you relearn to associate the bed with sleep, it will reduce anxiety, and it will make the bed a much stronger trigger for sleep.

I hope this helps — and good luck!

—

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