[Sfriedman]

I have been staying on the sofa all night for the last month or so because I know that as soon as I go to bed I will be awake.

Is this a problem? I am able to fall asleep on the sofa, but cannot stay asleep for very long. I consider it a good night if I haven’t looked at the clock for at least three hours.

Sometimes I will wake up and fall back asleep in about thirty minutes or so. Other nights I just don’t ever fall asleep again.

I can just lie still all night with my eyes closed. I very seldom sit up or even open my eyes. Is this considered light sleep or just relaxation.

[Scott]

Hey Sfriedman – welcome to the forum!

The negative association between sleep and your bed is something that has been learned because of your experience with poor sleep, tossing and turning and being awake while lying in bed. When I experienced insomnia, I remember associating my bed with anxiety and wakefulness but I was able to overcome those thoughts using stimulus control. Stimulus control is an evidence-based technique in cognitive and behavioral therapy for insomnia, that if used in combination with sleep restriction, has shown to be highly beneficial. More info on stimulus control is located here: https://insomniacoach.com/stimulus-control-therapy/ Have you experimented with getting out of bed when you wake at night and doing something enjoyable if you aren’t able to go back to sleep for 20-30 minutes?

When you use the sofa for sleep, you’re changing the association between sleep and non-sleeping environments. This can make it more difficult to re-establish that sleep connection you once had with your bed.

Hope that helps,
Scott J

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