[Vita]

I am on my second week of CBTI and struggle with all thoughts so much. My average week sleep time only 4h.Trying to do meditations during the day, going out of bed during the night and now I did not sleep for a second night in a row and feel so anxious about how this impact my mental and physical health. I feel so sleepy just hours before my sleep window starts, but as soon as I am in bed, i feel awake instantly. I do not know what to do. Is it ok to go to bed before sleep window starts if you feel really sleepy?

[Martin Reed]

Hello Vita and welcome to the forum! Have you asked your CBT-I therapist about this? It might be best to defer to them since different therapists might have different approaches here.

You might also consider your own experience. Have you tried going to bed when sleepy before the start of your sleep window? If so, how did that work out for you?

When I work with clients I typically suggest that if they are feeling really sleepy in the hour before the sleep window begins, they allow themselves to go to bed and see what happens.

When it comes to that sensation of feeling wide awake as soon as you get into bed, that’s a hallmark symptom of insomnia — and sleep restriction isn’t really intended to help with that. Within the framework of CBT-I you’d probably be looking to practice stimulus control.

Within the framework of ACT-I you’d probably be looking to explore how to experience wakefulness with less struggle (rather than doubling down on trying to make sleep happen and/or trying to control your thoughts and feelings).

I hope there’s something useful here and I wish you all the best! You are not alone.

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