[Martin Gash]

I have a query on the sleep diary. I don’t know how long I am asleep. It is nit easy guessing how long I an in bed after reading seeing if I go to sleep. I can estimate how long it takes the read a book. What do other people do?

[Chee2308]

Hello!

A very rough estimate is more than good enough. In the end, you shouldn’t even track your sleep at all. Because optimal sleep happens when you track nothing.

In fact, you don’t even need to guess. Your body already does it all for you. It knows how much it needs and how much it gets, that’s why you wake up or feel sleepy! There’s already an internal clock going on inside that does all the tracking and regulating the sleep/wake cycle.

Just trust your own body okay? That’s how you recover. You slowly build trust and demolish doubt about your body. Ultimately, don’t turn your own body into an imaginary enemy that you need to fight every night. Because let’s face it, you expect to sleep every night so don’t turn that routine into a nightmare or some kind of competition that you need to win on every night. Sleep is not competition or race or a boxing match. Sleep is when you can completely relax and let go. The body takes over naturally and sleep becomes a by-product of that relaxation.

Easy does it. The more you let go, the better you sleep. Best wishes.

• This reply was modified 4 months, 1 weeks ago by Chee2308.

[Martin Gash]

What a powerful reply.

[Greenleaf67]

I aspire to be able to do this.

[Chee2308]

Hello @greenleaf67

I read about your post in the other thread.

So you said you have a 5.5 hour window but only slept 4.5? I once had an experience with something of the sort. Sleeping well for 4-5 hours and then waking a wee bit short of my established wake up time and finding it harder to sleep again after exhausting the initial sleep drive.

So what did you do for that extra hour? For me, I just got out of bed early initially and but then for once, I went back to bed for a change and actually fell back asleep. As time went on, I started not getting out of bed anymore but I just went straight back (after getting up to use the toilet) and the times to fall back asleep started getting progressively shorter.

So for now, I spend between 7-9 hours in bed and I don’t track nor care how much of those were actually spent sleeping. Best wishes to you.

[Martin Gash]

Thank you for sharing. I am on a restricted sleep window at the minute if 6.5 hours. I note what you say and that going to bed again after going to the loo is something to do. I note in particular you don’t care whether you sleep or not. Something I am learning.

[Greenleaf67]

Hi Chee, thanks for the encouragement! I usually get up, do something relaxing and then I go back to bed and can fall asleep. Sometimes it only takes 5 minutes, other times its longer. Yes I have also had some success just using the bathroom which works some nights as well. I struggle with this idea of befriending wakefulness, though. I want to say I feel it is my mortal enemy and its hard to learn acceptance of how insomnia is affecting my life. But all the information I read is saying that this is key to letting go and stopping trying to control my sleep. I am using the cbt to work on restructuring my thinking and it does help. I am a work in progress!

[Chee2308]

@greenleaf67

So you also said you feel tired during the day? Do you actually get sleepy? If you do, that’s actually a surefire sign your sleep system still works. So what are you really worried about? Your body has been trying to tell you that all along.. literally screaming on top of its lungs, “Hey I’m doing well. Everything still works. Stop getting unnecessarily worried because that’s getting in the way of me doing my job!”

Any sleep lost will always eventually be recovered. It’s only a matter of time. Be honest with yourself, “Is tonight my only shot at sleeping so it has to be perfect?” Or will there be the next night, the night after and so on. The answer is always the latter so plenty of future opportunities for sleep and catching up. Why worry now? Start practicing the habit of letting things be. Good luck!

[Greenleaf67]

Thanks Chee!!! I need to remember all of that. I really appreciate your encouragement. Hope you are doing well too!

[Author]

Posts