Life after insomnia, TED experience & more! (Talking insomnia

[@chriscroteau931]

Saniya's original Talking Insomnia interview was probably the most helpful thing for me when my trip down the rabbit hole began in March. Luckily, I found your channel, Daniel, by mid-April and binged your videos which included Saniya's story. I felt Saniya's account of her experience was the most emotionally validating of any Talking Insomnia video I watched and it brought me tremendous confidence that I had found the right community to help me. Thanks to you both, I don't know where I'd be with you two and others involved with NATTO.

[@saniyawarwaruk9746]

Thank you so much Chris. I'm so happy to hear that I was able to help in any way and just know that you are never alone in this even though it feels like it at times. You will come out on the other side and I'm looking forward to hearing YOUR story on the channel :)

[@lisaallen5140]

Interesting story. You mention cbti didn’t work for you, but it seems like you got out of bed when you can’t sleep, would you be able to clarify?

[@saniyawarwaruk9746]

@@lisaallen5140 Yes for sure. CBTi is more than just getting out of bed, there is a system of logging your time (at least this is the version presented to me) and calculating sleep efficiency which really makes you aware of how little you are sleeping. CBTi has very strict rules. For some people, this isn't a problem but for many people this heightens and amplifies their fears. I'm just a super Type A so if someone tells me "get out of bed after 15 minutes" I get stressed about laying in bed for 16 minutes, so I would lay there wondering how long I'd been laying there for fear of breaking the rules. I would get out of bed, log my time, be reminded of how tired I was. Then I'd feel sleepy, log my time in my log book, get back into bed and be wide awake. So this is in stark comparison to what I ended up doing - which was really based on how I was feeling. If I felt good laying in bed, I would do it and often even watch TV in bed until I slowly fell asleep - no log books. If I was laying in bed and I felt anxious and uncomfortable, I'd get up and watch TV in the other room or preoccupy myself with something else. There are really no rules with this method, except to do what feels good and ignore the time, divert your attention from the process of sleep. Does that help clarify?

[@lisaallen5140]

Yes, I try and stay in bed and rest but then I get so uncomfortable laying there for so long without sleeping. I can’t really sleep in different positions, so then I toss and turn. I guess at this point I should start getting out of bed. Typically if I get up and do other activities I don’t typically get back to bed that night though. Such a difficult place to be in

[@saniyawarwaruk9746]

@@lisaallen5140 Totally relate! And I think the clue here is when you say "If I get up and do something else, I don't typically get back to bed that night though". Of course, we all want to sleep and to have a restful night but in order to get that achieved outcome in the long run, in those moments you have to shift your perspective from being able to fall back asleep that night to doing something else enjoyable (or at the very least neutral). Often, what I found would help me would be to recognize in that moment what was going on in my head - like aha! I see you brain. I know you're afraid so here is what I can do to help you realize there is no threat. Does that help at all? I know it's frustrating to hear the answer "do something else" but think of it as an investment in future Lisa's sleep :)

[@hidaichaves8819]

Been on and off this channel when my lack of sleep comes up which always helps.. Saniyas great .. Thank you all for the sleep school.. you are a blessing

[@thesleepcoachschool8192]

🙏 this means so much to read today, many thanks

[@michelleweil6672]

Saniya! Welcome back, great to see you!

[@FearlessSleep]

Such a great talk! Saniya is an amazing guest!

[@thesleepcoachschool8192]

She rocks! She has that🔥that will lead the movement to new places 😊

[@samanthapaclibar5079]

I love saniya in TED talk. Really!!! 🥰

[@thesleepcoachschool8192]

She rocks! So glad you checked it out 😊

[@the-ambivalent-listener]

I have had insomnia for as long as I can remember, sometimes more, sometimes less. Lately it has escalated again and I came across this channel by luck. I just watched a few videos and quickly understood the key point of Natto and yesterday a miracle happened. I was asleep in less than a minute, without melatonin, which I usually take. Usually I need an hour, or longer, or often not at all. I just ordered both books to Germany, I think that was the investment of my life.

[@thesleepcoachschool8192]

Incredibly nice to see this comment today 😊 This is a true magical moment, which is so nice because we can see that sleep comes from nowhere, it requires nothing. Now, that’s kind of not what the brain “wants” to hear so often it will try to figure out how it happened and do it again. Then we have some trouble again. But that’s the process, learning that we can step back, leave effort, and when we aren’t trying to recreate magic, it happens more and more. Welcome and thanks for sharing 🙏

[@rominasllafko2409]

Hi, I am going through the same. Did you have also nights with 0 sleep in a row? Your video is so inspiring

[@kamillabendersky]

So good to see Saniya again! That's a great achievement! Where can I see the Ted Talk?

[@thesleepcoachschool8192]

Kamilla! So nice to hear from you 🙂 Here it is: m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/jmTLcoJ_dst3bMU

[@blktegs]

I have a question on if I am calm and in bed trying to fall asleep. What should I be thinking about? Something fun? Or blank space. Or just let what comes come

[@thesleepcoachschool8192]

Hi David, you know this is a common question. And there is a built in assumption that we can decide what to think about, when, in fact, none of us have that type of control. So yes, when we let whatever comes come, that’s when we find things become more and more peaceful, and we sleep more and more easily.

[@davidmathews9633]

Do you have any information on VGKC antibodies?

[@thesleepcoachschool8192]

Hi David, no… but I’d add one little thing. Many many many things like hormones for example can affect our sleep and maybe cause some sleep disruption…but I think the only thing that leads to the ongoing, self sustaining struggle we call insomnia is our fear of not sleeping. Without fear, we can be awake or have choppy sleep, but we won’t have the inner struggle that insomnia is imho.

[@davidmathews9633]

I need help finding a doctor for Autoimmune encephalitis

[@thesleepcoachschool8192]

Hi David, hope you’ll find one that can help with this

[@musicallife3981]

@@thesleepcoachschool8192 would you need to treat the hormone issue though?

[@thesleepcoachschool8192]

We look at it this way: many things can disrupt our sleep, like hormones, but only fear can create the ongoing struggle we call insomnia