[Grangers]

Hi everyone

Looking for some pointers.

I was thinking of trialing still having a sleep window say 12:30 til 7 BUT going to bed even if im not sleepy at 12:30 and relaxing doing something pleasant in bed with no intention of trying to sleep and then only let sleep come when i start feeling sleepy. I know that if im not sleepy at a certain point sleep drive isnt there yet and it will come at some point. Only thing that concerns me is even though i start feeling sleepy while lying there am i 1. Stopping myself building more sleep drive to sleep through the night before going to bed as its more sedentary to lay in bed relaxed instead of sitting up on the couch even though im restricting sleep still?

2. Even though i am not anxious or frustrated and completely relaxed am i starting conditioned arousal by being awake in bed even though im relaxed and calm

3. Would it be ok to watch a repetitive easy watch programme on netflix in bed until i feel sleepy aslong as its relaxing and enjoyable. I know that this isnt sleep hygiene but then again isnt sleep hygiene conter productive when trying to get rid of insomnia

[Tessishere]

Curious about this too!

[Martin Reed]

Sounds like it might be worth an experiment! Sleep drive isn’t usually the main problem for people with chronic insomnia — it’s all the effort that goes into trying to make sleep happen and/or trying to fight or avoid the difficult thoughts and feelings that might choose to show up.

With that in mind, being in bed when awake isn’t really the problem — but being in bed and engaging in a battle with sleep and the mind can be!

If you choose to watch some Netflix because that’s something you enjoy, you might want to give that a try, too — as long as your goal isn’t to make sleep happen, because with a goal you can’t control you might end up setting yourself up for struggle!

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