[Hayleywobser]

Im new to insomnia. I have had it about 5 weeks. Prior to this I have LOVED my bed (and I still do). It has always been a place to relax, read, watch tv and sleep. I can totally wrap my mind around “for now” only using it for sleep, getting out of bed when not being able to sleep, waking at the same time everyday and the biggest- STOP OBSESSING ABOUT SLEEP and i will return to my hold ways of sleep. The problem is forcing my sleep window gives me so much stress and i hyper focus on it, which is the opposite of what I need to do. I have always prefered to fall asleep early 9:30-10 and wake naturally around 5:30-6am. It works for me. Right now I am trying to implement a sleep window of 11pm-6am. Here is the thing, I do better when i do have rules and i feel like making myself stay awake until 11pm is a rule. And that causes me to only focus more on the situation. Would it be wrong of me to just go to bed when I am sleepy, as long as i get out of bed when I cant sleep and wake the sametime everyday. I just seeing that bedtime rule as something that only adds to my obsession about insomnia. Im trying very hard not to give it attention by the sleeptime start window is stressing me out.

[Hayleywobser]

I mean i feel better when i DONT have rules and the sleep window start time feels like a rule.

[Chee2308]

Using a sleep window increases the likelihood of feeling sleepy by a certain time every night because it helps to realign your body clock. But that said, the answer is no, you don’t have to stick to a strict sleep window. You can work with a range too! Say, going to bed sometime between 11 and midnight while keeping your out of bed times pretty consistent. That’ll still work! Most normal people do that anyways. Nobody really wants to follow a set of strict rules forever, really. Because that’s not living, but a self-imposed curfew. Go ahead and live your life! Stop making sleep the center of it all because ultimately, in the end, when you look back at your life, what do you want to remember? How you lived your life or how you slept? Good luck!

[Martin Reed]

As Chee mentioned, if you don’t feel comfortable with a sleep window, you don’t have to commit yourself to one!

You might simply give yourself a consistent out of bed time in the morning (if you feel comfortable with that) and then only go to bed when truly sleepy enough for sleep at night (sleepy as in you are finding it hard to stay awake).

I hope this helps!

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