Where did my sleep go? It's like my body forgot how to sleep?!
Question:
Where did my sleep go? It's like my body forgot how to sleep?
I need so much help now. I don't know what to do.
Answers:
Just as a lot of falling asleep at the same time each night is a habit, so can tossing and turning become a habit, too. So as you say, it is like your body forgets how to sleep, if that’s what you teach it. There are a lot of things people do to try to help their sleep, like a warm bath or boring activities. Some use soothing music. You definitely should give yourself the last hour before bedtime just to relax, ending that with whatever routine you want – laying out clothes for the next day, washing your face, brushing your teeth, the same each night. You do need to tire out your body to sleep easily, so exercise earlier in the day is important.
The most important thing I found for retraining my body to sleep was to avoid tossing and turning. I also think it’s important not to read in bed or watch TV in bed, though some people make these part of their bedtime ritual. I want my body to be used to sleeping when I lie down to sleep, so if I have that feeling that sleep is not coming, I get up and do something productive, whether household chores or related to work.
Our bodies tend to be on a 90-minute cycle, so if you’re too hyper for your bedtime, another wave of tiredness will come in about 90 minutes. So when you feel that, try going to sleep then. If that one doesn’t come, there will be another wave of sleepiness about 3 hours after your regular bedtime. If you have to do something the next day, you should let yourself rest in bed at least 3 hours, but even if you do stay up all night, you’ll sleep that much better the next night. And sleeping will re-establish your bedtime. Tossing and turning will do just the opposite.
Both OTC and prescription sleeping pills don’t help the problem of getting your body used to sleeping again. I’ve never known anyone where those were a good solution to insomnia in the long run. Of course if you’re anxious or manic, you need help with that to sleep well. But if it’s just getting into bad habits, you can fix that yourself.