This is good advice with sleep and also anxiety in general, at least for me. I really try to just let the feeling hit me and tell me what it wants to tell me, and don't try to fight it and get myself more stressed. I just "go with the flow" of what it's doing and it does eventually tire itself out. I've found with sleep and anxiety both that the more I fight it, the worse it gets. This is definitely not easy, and it took MANY, MANY repetitions over a few months to start to see improvement.
Can you share more information on the 'long tail' / end phases of insomnia recovery? There is lots of (amazing and super helpful) content on insomnia recovery but not much on the nuances of the last phases as it fizzles out, and I think it would be helpful, as sometimes I feel as if I'm a little lost as to what is normal 🙂
Cortisol levels are at their highest in the morning, which is normal. People think that cortisol is bad because it's called the "stress" hormone. But we need it to be alert (otherwise we would never wake up!) I think those of us with insomnia who experience a flood of cortisol at night when we want to sleep have developed a globalized fear of the sensation of being alert (aka hyperaroused), even in appropriate contexts. That being said, I know not everyone wants to be awake that early if they don't have to be. But when I was going through this I just accepted that I was awake, got up, and started my day. It was easier on my nervous system than trying to fight fire with fire in the hopes that I might fall back to sleep. Understanding the role that cortisol plays in our sleep-wake cycle is also helpful when you feel like your nervous system is "broken." Nope! :)
I can deal with cortisol spikes or whatever keeps me up after waking early, it’s when I don’t sleep at all and they happen that is discouraging. Hard to accept and tolerate.
This is good advice with sleep and also anxiety in general, at least for me. I really try to just let the feeling hit me and tell me what it wants to tell me, and don't try to fight it and get myself more stressed. I just "go with the flow" of what it's doing and it does eventually tire itself out. I've found with sleep and anxiety both that the more I fight it, the worse it gets. This is definitely not easy, and it took MANY, MANY repetitions over a few months to start to see improvement.
Can you share more information on the 'long tail' / end phases of insomnia recovery? There is lots of (amazing and super helpful) content on insomnia recovery but not much on the nuances of the last phases as it fizzles out, and I think it would be helpful, as sometimes I feel as if I'm a little lost as to what is normal 🙂
Cortisol levels are at their highest in the morning, which is normal. People think that cortisol is bad because it's called the "stress" hormone. But we need it to be alert (otherwise we would never wake up!) I think those of us with insomnia who experience a flood of cortisol at night when we want to sleep have developed a globalized fear of the sensation of being alert (aka hyperaroused), even in appropriate contexts. That being said, I know not everyone wants to be awake that early if they don't have to be. But when I was going through this I just accepted that I was awake, got up, and started my day. It was easier on my nervous system than trying to fight fire with fire in the hopes that I might fall back to sleep. Understanding the role that cortisol plays in our sleep-wake cycle is also helpful when you feel like your nervous system is "broken." Nope! :)
I can deal with cortisol spikes or whatever keeps me up after waking early, it’s when I don’t sleep at all and they happen that is discouraging. Hard to accept and tolerate.