Live insomnia Q&A: Bring your questions!

[@Liz-k3u]

Want to chase sleep in the morning because I feel exhausted and need to be alert for my work. Should I force myself to get out of bed. Anything I can do about fatigue?

[@ianquigley5070]

I'm suspect this is a very common experience. I've certainly experienced it many times and find that it tends to build up more anxiety, frustration and pressure. I think the brain generates the 'what if I can catch an extra hour or two' which is understandable. I've changed my approach and if I've been up, say watching TV and gone back to bed, I will appraoch it by saying if sleep happens then OK, but essentially I'm going to rest in bed. Of course, it doesn't guarantee falling to sleep, however my main focus is to be relaxed with being awake, if that makes sense

[@Liz-k3u]

Do you still recommend a sleep window and waking up around the same time every fay?

[@VeronikaPepezova]

Having a consistent sleep window is at the beginning very helpful, especially for creating structure in your day. Some people stay in bed for an excessive amount of time, so going to bed at a reasonable hour and getting up at more or less the same time can be beneficial. However, at the end of the process, the goal is to return to being the natural sleepers we once were. Letting go of the sleep window and specific wake-up times we created to overcome insomnia is what true recovery looks like.

[@ianquigley5070]

​@@VeronikaPepezovathe last part of your comment is starting to resonate with me. Prior to where I'm at now, it felt very 'mechanical' in the sense of wake up times, not looking at the time, etc however im starting to notice that I'm less focused on these issues, for example if I notice the time, whether it be when I go to bed or if its during the night, then it feels 'ok'. Also, if I sleep extra on a morning, I tend not to overthink this, or if my thoughts become fixated on sleeping past my wake up time, I see my thoughts for what they are, ie my brain starting to over worry. I say, thank you brain for sending me these messages, duly noted. I've even started to think about naps in the afternoon, if I felt the need. I'm certainly not going to fall into the trap of being 'over confident' , rather it's a sign that I'm moving on my journey

[@thesleepcoachschool8192]

@ianquigley5070 this is the path 😊