What am I supposed to do before I fall asleep? Insomnia recovery questions
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- čas přidán 3. 08. 2024
- Have you struggled with not knowing what to do as you go to bed? Or perhaps you felt uncertain already before that? Answering one of the most popular question people with insomnia share: "What should I be doing?"
DISCLAIMER: Not medical or psychotherapy advice. Everything on this channel represents personal opinion and experience and is provided for informational purposes only. The author is not a medical doctor, psychotherapist or any other licensed professional. Any information on this channel does not constitute or substitute medical, psychotherapy, counselling or any other professional advice and treatment. It is not intended to treat, cure, diagnose any medical or psychological condition or disorder. Always seek professional licensed help if you have any health concerns.
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Nothing can create sleep, that is good to know. Thank you Alina.
Youre truly god send. I asked a three year the same thing some thing along the lines of how do you fall asleep and how should i fall asleep and what does she do before dozing off and her reply : "nothing." She showed me that just by laying down sleep comes to here 😂. I know that sleep comes to us and not the other way. It's just to accept whatever happens and let your body do the rest. (Pun unintended?)
Thank you for all your videos, Alina! They help me understand my insomnia a lot and I think I've already made a lot of progress with my approach to it. I have had problems with sleep for two months now and I've been watching your channel and the Sleep Coach School for about 3 weeks, during which I went from chaos to more peace of mind :) However, I still struggle with getting a more predictable sleep pattern, especially when it comes to falling asleep, even though I feel less anxious.
Some evenings I can't keep my eyes open at 10PM (even when I'm out with friends or at a rock concert) and it takes me little time to fall asleep. Other nights I don't feel sleepy at all (even though I don't feel much anxiety lying in bed or watching some series) and I can't fall asleep till 3 or 4 AM or at all. Some nights, especially after a bad night, I feel more anxious, but I fall asleep fast. Other nights when I feel the same I can't sleep. There's really no pattern. I feel like my hyperarousal is much lower than let's say a month ago, thanks to all the education. However, to be honest, I still struggle a bit with accepting and befriending wakefulness. Some days I feel ok with it and some days, I wish my sleep was more predictable. I usually just rest in bed when I can't sleep or watch a tv series that I like. For some time it feels ok or even relaxing, but if it happens every night or lasts half a night I start feeling anxious/sad. Do I need to be more patient? How to make myself care less about those sleepless nights? I know sleeplessness can't harm me, in fact I had many good days after sleepless nights, but still feel too attached to whether I sleep or not :( Maybe I focus too much on the negatives?
Before insomnia I was able to make sleep happen whenever I wanted. I thought about and worried about yet was able to sleep no matter what. I even had the worst sleep hygiene. After a medication triggered my insomnia, it did something to my brain that no longer created sleepiness. It had nothing to do with behavior or fear. Now it doesn’t matter what I do or don’t do I will not sleep.
Are you ok now? Genuinely asking
SURRENDER and accept your fate and thats the only solution , entertain the idea that you may not sleep and its fine. Sleep is something you cant control.
Thank you! I have insomnia and fibromyalgia, I use amitriptyline to fall sleep, I ´m from Brazil, i would like please speak slow to you understand Thank you
Thank you very much Alina! That's a bit what I thought but it reassures me to hear you say it LOL
Great❤
How do you cope with having insomnia and responsibilities at the same time (e.g. a job and inability to focus, having to go somewhere oe do smth but you re too tired)? Or did you cover this already in any video?
Great topic Andreea, Im not sure I talked about it specifically. Going to add to my list of Q&A episodes! Stay tuned!
What can I do to get relief if I’ve been up for days no sleep? Please respond. What bothers me the most on my journey is stress shown on my eyes when I look in the mirror! Any suggestions? 🙏🏾
Same question
Sorry to hear you are going to a rough patch Passiona. I've been there and I know this isn't fun. What's been helping me during the long patches of what seemed like "no sleep" was to learn about the fact that my body will sleep even if it seemed like I was going to stay awake forever . I talked about the fear of not sleeping for a long time in my video called "You will sleep" - hope it can bring some clarity.
@@FearlessSleep you are a god send Alina....may god bless you with prosperity and good health.....I have been suffering from this problem for last 4-5 years on and off.....i took antidepressants and tried therapy also.... nothing seemed working for long....i can't say I am better now ...but surely I'm getting better , gaining some clarity ......i wish I will be out of this annoying situations....plzz wish me luck 🤞
Hi alina! For the past few days Im doing great with my sleep. Been having 6-8 hours of sleep. Just by closing my eyes for after like 10-30 minutes sleep will come but last night I cant sleep. I just close my eyes for hours and I cant sleep. Im relax and dont feel anxiety but I just cant fall asleep. Can you please explain to me why?
Hi Jessica, I know these types of nights "out of nowhere" can puzzle and frustrate anyone. I've been there! At the same time, having a sleepless night when there is no anxiety and no sleep is a very common experience during this journey. My understanding is that hyperarousal can take so many forms, and sometimes it can manifest itself as just an alert state. I found for myself that the less I was resisting that experience, the sooner it would pass. Also reframing this can be quite helpful. Being up at night without anxiety can become an extra time resource that we can use to our advantage too: self-care, doing things we always wanted to do, etc.
@@FearlessSleep Thank you!
Alina, thank you for your videos. I’ve been suffering from insomnia since the beginning of the year seemingly out of no where.
I have a question. My insomnia doesn’t follow a pattern. Some nights I can sleep 6-8 hours and fall asleep no problem. Some nights I struggle to fall asleep till after 3, 4, 5 am, or sometimes no sleep at all. I am not doing anything different from night to night. It’s very frustrating and makes it hard to care for my 3 children and house when I’m so tired. Do you have any thoughts on when insomnia doesn’t follow a pattern? What do I do to have more good nights ? Thank you!
Great question, thanks for bringing it up. i will include it in my next Q&A video!
@@FearlessSleep thank you so much! I will keep my eyes peeled for that episode!!
@@allycat6141 hi, how you been this days?
Have you gone to a doctor?
The fact that it comes from nowhere could indicate a medical issue.
Be careful, test your body, could be the reason
@@FearlessSleep Hi Alina, I am having the same issue as Ally. Some nights great sleep, some nights seem as bad as ever. I'm not sure what I am doing different and not sure there is any pattern. Curious if you answered this and can share which video, I didn't find it yet. Thanks!
Hi Ally, I'm in a similar spot these days to what you describe. I hope you are doing better
Hey iam from Bangladesh your big fan🇧🇩
But surely Alina meditating or deep breathing could help calm a racing heart if you have sleep anxiety ? Which in turn may calm you therefore the possibility of falling asleep ?…
You are right, meditation can do a lot of good things. But when we turn it into an effort to sleep, it may backfire. So it is helpful to observe our intentions. If we do meditation as something that helps us to be with our emotions and wakefulness - I think it is a wonderful way to spend time before sleep. If, however, we do it with a clear goal to manipulate sleep and reach a certain outcome, we might get more discouraged if it doesn't happen.
@@FearlessSleep ah yes that all makes perfect sense … it’s about the intentions ..
still going alhamdullilah no sleep issues. and ain't a bot lol , beware so many people in youtube are now bot