Insomnia insight

When you start spending less time in bed and do better only to have a setback - three things that can turn the setback into a catapult are celebrating your new baseline, doing nothing to build sleep confidence and celebrating a good day to lose fear of sleeplessness.
Do you have trouble sleeping? Can’t sleep? Have questions about insomnia or sleep? Please leave a comment or send me an email at [e-mail] and I will be happy to share my thoughts as a video or audio reply.
If you want to connect elsewhere I’m on Twitter @ErichsenDaniel, Instagram @Erichsen.Daniel, Facebook as Daniel Erichsen. I have a blog at bedtyme.co.
Here are some playlists that I hope you’ll find helpful.
Core curriculum - a collection of the most important insights, a great place to start.
• Playlist
Success stories - if you need hope and inspiration, this is for you.
• Success stories
Insomnia insight - a list of every single episode.
• Playlist
Talking insomnia - guests with insomnia or experts share their stories / tips.
• Talking insomnia
Hypnic jerks, sudden awareness of falling asleep and other common issues.
• Hypnic jerks and more.
Fatal insomnia - for those concerned about ffi and sfi.
• Familial and sporadic ...
Best!
This content does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or other qualified healthcare providers.

[@maryjesusavillegas]

Hi Daniel! I needed to hear this. I made so much progress ever since the last time I e-mailed you. I think I slept like a baby for 8 hours for the past few weeks. But two days ago, I suddenly become conscious that I was getting better. It made sleep difficult again, and the day after that, I had solid 8 hours of sleep and then last night I had poor sleep.
I felt frustrated and alone again, but the difference is during the past two nights, I would just try to be calm and let sleep happen if it would. While I closed my eyes, I would remember those nights when my mind would try to think a lot but sleep drive would win and the next thing I know, I slept very long.
I am so desperate to get back on track again. But I guess I just have to go through this again until it feels like it's no longer a big deal.

[@thesleepcoachschool8192]

Hi Mary!
Thanks for staying in touch and you know what, I'm super happy that you slept well for the past weeks, that's fantastic! That is definitely the headline here :)
Now, one thing that's really important is to understand why you slept better. It is tempting to say it was because I did this or did that, because having something you have control over that can explain why you slept better gives you a sense of control. But in reality, there is no way to control sleep. It was thanks to you being ok with less control, you letting go, you being willing to have some trouble sleeping, it was this reduction in effort that led you to a place of sleeping well for weeks!
When you know this, then it's easy for you to see that the path back to sleeping well is to not resist. Instead of going "Oh no, I have insomnia again, I have to do something" you go "Ok, I'm not sleeping as well, and that's ok. Even if I have a night of little sleep, I'll be fine". Basically, when you are not resisting that you'll have a speedbump, you'll do really well!
Hope this makes sense Mary, well done getting to a place where you slept well and, I'm sure you'll soon be back there!!

[@annahisenberg]

Hi Mary! I've been watching these videos and saw your comment. Just wondering how you're doing now? Did you get over your setback?

[@sreya670]

One day i sleep another day i dont sleep at all, next day again i sleep another day i don't...what do we call this? When we hv one goodnight and another bad night?
Another thing i would like to mention that i think maybe we have set some rules in our mind like:- night is for sleep,everyone sleep at night,then why we will stay awake,this rule makes us think that we are different from others,this thinking gets even more strong when we see that we have gone through several nights without sleep and this what makes us feel even more anxious :) then we try to fix this ,try to sleep(sleep efforts) and then we go to rabbit hole again or a hamster wheel ...This is all about being afraid to be awake at night...I understand this but still u know its a bit tough to feel ok,and one thing what i try to do i put everything(reason of staying awake at night for few days) into anxiety umbrella,and this anxiety makes us hyperaroused and thats why sleep is absent :)
I m having this anxiety from june,i m trying to make progess and for that i need allow to feel ok,have to focus on life as i use to do before having this anxiety...Its tough to allow,accept this anxiety but this is the only way out to have a better life in long run :)
And this person is doing a great job❤️
by making us aware,thankyou so much, you give me hope
one day i will be out of this...idk how my journey will be,but need to positive...Trying to do this everyday,making few changes in my perception,its tough,but this is the only wayout :)

[@Sunflowersarepretty]

I wish we could an answer to this because I'm in the same boat as you. If I slept well one night it's so solidified in my head that the next night wont be a good one 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@laurenmcdonald7086]

Hi Daniel! Thanks again for all your help. I just started to dive back into all your content due to a recent "speed bump". It's been an AMAZING 4 or 5 months(!) since I have struggled with insomnia. I've been truly cured...so I thought. But I started talking to someone who also experiences insomnia just the other day and I recommended her to your channel. But since then...I've had trouble and I'm very confused. It's been 2-3 days now of the dreaded returning of hyperarousal. I'm trying to locate all that you have to say regarding speed bumps/setbacks (particularly relating to hyperarousal). I can recognize at this point that it IS hyperarousal keeping me up (racing thoughts/pressure to sleep/heart rate etc) after being very sleepy nearing bedtime. I'm trying to enjoy my time in bed, watching a show with my husband. I even fell asleep easily while he was rubbing my back, but IMMEDIATELY once the light turns off and we say goodnight, hyperarousal kicks in. I'm telling myself "not to care", "sleep will come", "I'm safe", "it is no big deal", etc etc. Last night, I recognized that I wasn't falling asleep, felt an increase in heart rate, so I got out of bed to read a book that I really do love, but I wasn't even retaining any of the words I was reading. Maybe it was being exhausted, or maybe the hyperarousal/worry about falling asleep kept me from even processing what I was reading, thus taking the enjoyment right out of it. Finding something more worthwhile to do (instead of sleep) is difficult because my mind almost doesn't let me enjoy it. Any tips on that? Any other videos that I should be watching to help deal with hyperarousal? Thank you again, Daniel. Forever grateful to you.
Lauren M

[@thesleepcoachschool8192]

Hi Lauren,
So so glad you have found so much value here and you know - all the answers are here, I put everything I know here, hang in there!

[@julieh80]

I love this Natto content. You have put into words what I have been experiencing with insomnia so long and why I think CBT-I didn’t work great for me. Can you talk more sometime about what mental approaches to use during the day after a night of bad sleep to maintain the not being attached to the outcome and having a good day when you don’t feel well from insomnia? I have chronic pain which does tend to feel worse after I don’t sleep as well so I’ve been trying to think of tips and tricks on continuing to teach my brain that it doesn’t matter when I don’t sleep. This is something I’ve been thinking about for so long! I’m just happy to see dialogues like this somewhere online. Thanks so much for your work!

[@thesleepcoachschool8192]

Julie! Thanks so much for the support 😊 and you’ve definitely found the right channel! Your story is similar to so many others here.
You’ll find the answer the question of where the battle scars (not feeling well) and much more in this playlist:
This is natto - the perfect place to start learning!
th-cam.com/play/PL6RQ1GS7B1cik8Xr8iVdxmKB9FYieevYj.html
I think this also will help much!
Success stories - if you need hope and inspiration, this is for you.
th-cam.com/play/PL6RQ1GS7B1cj68v9hdoXYv_fpOR65oI3U.html
Thanks for the support and be in touch!!

[@laurareed2612]

Hi Julie- Sorry for sleeping on your comment but I wanted you to know that I suffer from chronic pain as well that is exacerbated by lack of sleep. Some thing that helped me just now was when Daniel said to be kind to myself regardless of the outcome. There is so much societal shame around chronic pain. I always need this reminder. 💕🙏🏻 you aren’t alone!

[@dodgdurango6128]

I’m a heavy sleeper, lately I’ve had a week of 12+ hours a night!!!! And just had my first set back. a whole night of light sleep and no deep sleep. Its good to know that i just have to keep being and doing me and it will fix itself

[@thesleepcoachschool8192]

So glad you saw how things returned to what your usual is 😊 and yes, these speed bumps are so common and don’t stay when we aren’t trying to fix them

[@produceman13]

Thanks again Daniel! This gives me some hope :) I do tend to have a pretty negative mindset. But your right! A setback comes out of a positive thing and I should focus on that. Not changing stuff would give me more sleep confidence for sure, as well as treating myself well after a sleepless night. I guess I'll see if I can keep the 6 hour window for now. But I might go back to 5 if this does not work out.

[@thesleepcoachschool8192]

100%! Hang in there, you will get there!! You have so much insight 👍 all of the above makes total sense, perhaps you know whenever you change sleep window give it like 2 weeks, but other than that no further comments. Stay in touch!!

[@vladislavmalinovsky5111]

Most underraed channel on TH-cam! If I could do 999 views and 100 likes for you ...