Anytime 🤗 I’m really happy that you’re here

Michelle! Thanks for this comment, I’m very glad you liked it 😊! I’ll reply at length to this comment on Friday with Coach Michael, I think there’s lots here that people can really learn from. But to share something with you that I think is important, there is no way to think yourself past the things you’re experiencing. It’s the thinking itself that kind of is the problem :-) So I think the queue really is not resisted and being willing to experience whatever happens. When you start feeling OK with having those charts or jerks, when you look at them as signs that you’re about to sleep, when you’re willing to have a lot of weaknesses at night - that’s when magic happens! Someone reminded me of something I think I said in another video: Being willing to experience X neutralizes the fear of X. Hope this makes sense and again full reply Friday in Ask Daniel 68!

The Sleep Coach School 100%! It makes total sense! It’s just like what Dr. Guy Meadows mentions when he talks about welcoming and accepting, but, it’s easier said than done, especially when your body feels tired! 🙈I’ll definitely reframe the way I think about these sensations and see what happens. I know I’m missing a piece to my insomnia solving puzzle, and I’m sure it has to do with the thought process to reduce sleep-related anxiety, because I know how sleep works, so, no mystery there, but I still get anxious! 😥Sometimes I think my mind doesn’t believe the progress I could be making and backfires! Haha. Or, as though there are subconscious thoughts that may trigger these adrenaline jolts, hypnic jerks or racing heart as well without me even noticing/thinking about them! I’m still trying to figure out what it is. When I catch my mind sending me negative thoughts I will replace them with positive ones as they come throughout the day to calm my anxiety down and sometimes it works, and sometimes I’ll still get a bad night. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I look forward to hearing what you and Coach Michael have to say on Friday! 😁 Thanks for considering replying to my comment on video! ♥️ By the way... I just got your book and started reading it! 😁 Love it so far!

Michele! Thanks for sharing and for buying my book 😊🙏!! If you would consider reviewing it on Amazon, even just a line or two, that would mean the world. Lots here to talk about either Friday or Monday - will reply at length so that everyone can learn from you and hopefully myself as well 😝! Best!!

The Sleep Coach School I will absolutely review your book!! ♥️ I’ll give you a heads-up about when I do so so you can brag about it, haha. 🤣🙈 This is perfect! Thanks so much!! 🙏🏼

😂 please do!! In all seriousness - truly means the world 🌎!!

So so glad to hear 😊

🤗🙏

So glad you found this! We now call it the Houdini effect, it’s actually evidence that the our brains are working exactly as designed!

So glad to see this Karen 🙂!

Hi Haval, thanks for staying in touch. Sorry to hear that you’ve had trouble sleeping and lots of thoughts but I’m glad you’re here! Ok I will answer at length in Ask Daniel 68 or 69, look out for an episode with your name in the title. Hang in there!!

Just understanding itself often leads to this healing process starting, glad this made sense 😊

Hi Fiona! Glad you found it!! I saw you wrote a comment to Michelle and yes, it’s so important to hear that others have the same things going on so you don’t feel that you’re alone! I’m super happy you slept well this past week and remember, that’s thanks to you not trying to prevent the jerks or resisting them. Sometimes your mind kinda starts becoming preoccupied again. Just do exactly like you plan, be willing to have them, accept them and you’ll sleep well again! I know this may seem like hair splitting and even like lack of understanding - but this comes from a place of wanting you to do sleep fantastic: The more you want it gone, the more sticky it gets! The more your ok with experiencing it, the faster it’s gone! Okidoki have a nice rest of your Sunday and stay in touch!!

The Sleep Coach School hey daniel! this past 2 days has been really weird for me. yesterday i only have 2 hours ish asleep at like 8 am to 11 am bc i cant sleep the whole night before and maybe i took a nap at 3 pm? im not sure if im asleep or not like im laying on my sofa closing my eyes and it felt good thats all i know about it. and today i slept for 2 hours again (6am-8am), which is all of this was so weird to me to whole night im not even worrying on my head when the jerks happened im totally fine with it but my body feels so uncomfortable and also im not sleepy at all (maybe bc the unsure nap at 3pm?) . tbh im so tired of me being like this, im scared im gonna do this for the rest of my life. i miss my old life 😢

like im not even doing anything with my brain i was calm also but why im not sleeping? im so confused. even the 2 hours sleep i dont even know how i achieved that its like magic. i talk to my mom that i dont know what is wrong with me idk why all of this happened with no reason at all and she said dont follow those negative minds just lay in bed calm dont do anything. which i done that as i already said. (my mom also have trouble of sleeping but not as bad as me).

im sorry this comments are so long. but i tried to watch youtube until im sleepy (thats the only thing i like to do, i dont read books lmao), but until i reached the feels of not wanting to watch youtube anymore i just wanna go to sleep IM STILL not sleeping. this is so weird oh my god 😖

Hi Fiona, sorry to hear this, I know it can be very confusing and sometimes frightening and how it can take over not only your night but the day as well. But know that what you write here is nothing strange or uncommon, it’s simply that when the brain is trying to figure out what’s happening, when it’s wondering what’s going on - this puzzlement creates hyperarousal. The brain thinks there’s something odd going on an makes you more alert so that you don’t miss out on something that it thinks may be important for you to know about. The only problem - there’s been a misunderstanding. The brain doesn’t see that it is it’s own puzzlement that is causing all the things it thinks are weird. Hyperarousal can cause: Hyper sleep - doesn’t even feel like you’re sleeping/you’re not sure/you have vivid dreams/you are aware of what’s happening around you even when you sleep Hyper jerks - twitches and jerks when you’re about to fall asleep or during the day Hyper charging - you’re strangely energized even on no or minimal sleep Hypnic awareness - you become aware of the moment of fallling asleep When you no longer wonder what’s going on, when you see how hyperarousal can explain everything, when you no longer attempt to figure it out - good sleep will come your way. Hang in there Fiona! And stay in touch!!

Hi Eva, it can sound odd but it’s actually evidence our brain is working perfectly, it’s supposed to stop sleep when it’s not safe. It’s just confused thinking not sleeping is a threat

Hi Nichi, Anytime, so glad you’re here. And I’d say listen to Insomnia insight 378, it can explain this experience that can feel so strange.

How are you doing now?

Hi Emily! So glad it resonated and absolutely, I have some thoughts on this that I hope will help! A helpful analogy that I have started using is one of an airplane landing. There is often some turbulence and some shakiness on the airplane touches the ground. Which is completely normal! If the pilot would abort landing because of turbulence, then the landing would be delayed. But if they proceed, the airplane is soon on the ground. Similarly, when we transition from wakefulness into sleep, there is some normal turbulence there. Nothing strange or unusual! In fact, when you start looking at these jerks and jolts and tightness as a welcome sign that sleep is about to happen, that really helps. Because not only does it take you away from trying to stop them, but you’re actually OK with them happening. And when that happens, you are no longer going to be anxious and you’re going to experience less of them and sleep better!

@@thesleepcoachschool8192 Thanks for the response. I appreciate it and love the analogy. I just started reading your book but once I get further into it I’ll definitely leave an Amazon review!! Do you prefer people to get the Bedtyme app and all questions there or is it ok to keep asking questions in the comments in KZfaq as well? Thanks!!

So glad you found it! Check our website 👍

Hi Anna, I’m sorry to hear what happened but glad you’re here! And you know, sleep windows, they can help some people but they’re not really at all what matters… the inner journey, heart work, learning about oneself, that’s what helps! Imagine someone asking you to produce a beautiful song.. in 30 minutes! They also want to monitor you doing this so they have white lab coats and film you… this will be super hard. Because creative work demands freedom.. “I just couldn’t produce good work, no matter how hard I tried” we could rewrite as “because I tried so hard I couldn’t produce good work”. Or even “because I had slept little and thought this would keep me from doing my work, I tried hard to be creative which led to no work being done. This created even more pressure and even less work”. So you know, it’s really all the same I think. Peaceful sleep, peace of mind, creative work..: they all come from lack of pressure and self kindness 😊

@@thesleepcoachschool8192 Thank you for your kind and helpful words Daniel! It makes me sad when I think about how lost I was at that time, and I all the advice I received made the problem worse. I saw a specialist sleep psychologist, and a sleep psychiatrist and both decided I would be on medication forever! (As well as suggesting a host of 'sleep effort' habits that made things worse for me). But I'm glad to receive some advice that actually makes sense to me now.

Wow, yes you know unfortunately I hear this story over and over… hopefully we will change things as we continue growing this community. Thanks for being part of it!!

good question!

Hi Truong! Often the answer is right in front of our eyes and that’s why we don’t see it! “I wonder why” may be exactly this 😊 It can often seem odd that you don’t sleep even though you’re not anxious. Of course it does because if anxiety was the reason you had trouble sleeping, then when it fades you should sleep right? Here’s the thing, anything that makes us hyperaroused can keep sleep from happening. Imagine a kid before Christmas for example. They’re excited, not anxious. You know what else can create hyperarousal? Curiousity! Or puzzlement, being bewildered. So when you’re thinking “I’m not anxious so why am I not sleeping?” the answer is right there. It’s now the curiosity that’s keeping you awake! A natural next question becomes, so how do I become less curious? Guess what, you probably already have. Because when you understand something, there’s no mystery and less for the brain to figure out. But the best of all is that you’re less anxious. That may not seem like a big step right now because you slept little, but it is. As the anxiety fades and you’re no longer puzzled, sleep will come to you!

Hi Jas, Sorry to hear but glad you’re here. You know, the only thing that causes insomnia is how we think about things, not the things themselves. There’s nothing here that sounds the slightest unusual! There’s no evidence that short sleep causes any health problems! I don’t think there’s a cure when there’s no disease! The answer is really education!

@@thesleepcoachschool8192 Thanks, Daniel. That's reassuring. I was worried that sleepless nights might be more harmful than, say, nights with 2-3 hours of sleep, for instance. If that's not the case, it does take some worry off my brain. After two sleepless nights (and I'm sure they were sleepless), I *think* I must've slept a couple hours last night. And I hope that means it's progress in the right direction, no matter how miniscule. I'm trying to get to the point that I just don't care if I'm awake or asleep, but another worry of mine is that my body will get used to either lack of sleep or very minimal sleep. I REALLY don't want to go back to sleep meds of any kind. It's not my path forward.

So glad you’re seeing some of the worry fade 😊! And yes when you start thinking you probably slept rather than interpreting the same situation as I didn’t sleep… this shows that the worry is fading for sure! I completely understand and you know it’s so tricky… the more we think something is completely unacceptable, when there’s strong resistance, then that pressure often leads to some struggle and conflict. When on the other hand we aren’t judging ourselves even when we do something we didn’t want to do… then things get easier and easier.

Hi Jas, how are you doing now? I’m set to start CBTi soon and would love to hear your experience!

@@armalennn Hi, thanks for reaching out. Honestly, for me, I still struggle some nights, but my sleepless nights are largely a part of the past. My rough nights (similar to last night, really) are more like short sleep durations throughout the night. So I'll fall asleep relatively quickly (maybe 15-30 minutes), but my brain checks in to see if I'm asleep, which springs me awake from a short dream. I'll then find a new position in bed and fall asleep briefly then awaken. Rinse, repeat throughout the night. But ... I still get anywhere from 2-4 hours of sleep on those bad nights. The good news: it doesn't really affect me much at all. I tend to sleep much better the next night, and I can go 2-3 weeks without a truly terrible night of sleep pretty regularly. Then the rough night returns. :-) But I don't seem to be affected cognitively the next day from what I can tell. And the bad nights don't have a stranglehold on my life like they used to. So ... tl;dr, it's still a work-in-progress for me (and maybe it always will be), but I've turned a corner in that sleep doesn't control my life. It's certainly important, but there are other things more important (IMHO)--eating well, staying active, enjoying time with family and friends, putting in an honest day's work, etc. If sleep comes and provides a solid 6-7 hours of rest for me, awesome! If it doesn't find me on a particular night, so be it. We're human with all our ups and downs. I just accept what my body and brain wanna give me and move right along. :-) Hope this helps!

Hi Lauryn, It’s a very common fear, and what I want to say is we can feel like we’re losing it, but there’s no evidence that insomnia or sleep deprivation causes psychosis or some brain damage or insanity

Hi! Yes, I’ll do a sleep onset video, not sure exactly when but it’s now on my list!

@@thesleepcoachschool8192 🙏

Hi Sam! I think what really helps here is (1) not to try to sleep and (2) not to look for cues that it’s time to go to bed/sleep! The most fundamental truth when it comes to sleep is that the more we try the less we sleep. And the less we try the more we sleep. Just keeping this in mind, this awareness, it automatically leads the brain to a place where there’s less trying. Because ultimately the brain wants what’s best for you. And when it sees that trying to sleep is where the struggle comes from this changes. When somebody says that you can go to bed when you feel sleepy, that sounds pretty reasonable. But what can happen is that you don’t feel sleepy and you wonder if you should be looking for signs that you are sleepy. Here’s the thing - sleepiness naturally happens when the body is in need of sleep and we are not hyper aroused. Now looking for sleep cues, actively checking ourselves to see if we are sleepy or not, that makes us hyper aroused and this in itself makes sleep cues absent! So I think it’s helpful to not know the time, and you can be in bed or not, but when you feel sleepy (without having monitored) you can allow sleep to happen. If you don’t feel sleepy, you may just feel tired. Then you can allow yourself to rest with your eyes closed. Perhaps you are actually sleepy and you’ll sleep, perhaps not. The most important is just to not self-monitor and then things fall into place by themselves! Finally, remember a sleep window is just an invitation to let go. Often it can seem like there’s this count down until it begins…. Ready, set, sleep! Which as you can tell will create some performance anxiety! So I think it helps to look at it as the opposite. And opportunity to take that invitation of letting go of control and doing something that we like to do!

Hi Louella, I think it’s tricky when we try to classify our insomnia because then we can get the idea that there are different forms and they require different remedies, it can be confusing. Rather I think it helps to see that all sleep struggles come from the fear of not sleeping, and that there’s no struggle without this fear

Tell her about this channel! I think learning can help so much

Hi Joe, thanks for reading my book! And this is a good question. The thing is, the bed isn't very important at all, it is your relationship with being awake that matters. When you do things at night that make wakefulness ok/acceptable, then you are teaching the brain that there is nothing to fear and sleep comes easier. And you can do that in bed or elsewhere. So really anything you do at night that is not an attempt at making yourself sleep, wherever you are, that is the way!

@@thesleepcoachschool8192 great thanks Daniel. I was always told to get out of the bed after a certain time, but all this does is lead to more monitoring. Before my insomnia I used to watch tv in bed and slept great so I'm thinking i may slap a box set on whenever I'm struggling. Worth a go i reckon.

There’s a lot of well intended tips out there that often leads to more trouble! I think the key is to make it ok to be awake, acceptable, teach the brain there is nothing to fear. And watching some TV can be a great way of doing that. One thing to look out for is the experiment. If you find yourself thinking, “hmm I didn’t sleep much, watching TV didn’t work” then you know you actually had some intent there, you were trying to make sleep happen! Just something to be aware of... When there’s no intent, you just do something you like to do - like watching TV, you’ll see that sleep happens easier and easier!

Hi Cindy, check out our playlist called “unrefreshing sleep”, also the interview with Betul can help. Hang in there and be in touch

It will Rhonda, and I think within 2-4 months. I’m training an AI model and right now, it’s often answering just as well as I can. So we will have a service with the BedTyke curriculum + AI coach for like $49 per month. Hope this will allow you to join.

@@thesleepcoachschool8192 Thank you!

Hi JC! We call this anticipatory insomnia, so check Insomnia insight 286 which reviews this! Here’s some thoughts in writing: When you know that there’s going to be this stressor in the future and that you’ll probably sleep less well you can easily get anticipatory insomnia. There are three things that I think I really important to think about. Firstly, it may seem like because you know that you’re going to have trouble sleeping, you can do things ahead to prevent this. But this unfortunately doesn’t work. As you know, we can’t control sleep, in fact it is the desire to control sleep that causes trouble sleeping. So the first thing to do is to avoid preemptively doing things in an effort to try to prevent insomnia. This can sound kind of disappointing. But it is actually empowering because if you try to prevent it, you build up even more pressure and tension that will cause a lot of trouble sleeping. When you’re not trying to prevent anticipatory insomnia, you will neutralize this potential problem! Secondly, it may seem like something catastrophic will happen if you don’t sleep due to the upcoming event. If there have been times in the past when there was an event like the upcoming one, try to use that as evidence that although you may have had a lot of trouble sleeping - you came out on the other side! Thirdly, if you somehow managed to avoid this event that you are afraid will cause you to have a lot of trouble sleeping, then that’s typically not great. Because then it will seem like evidence that you really cannot sleep if things are different from typical. It will take away confidence and give insomnia more influence over your life. So hard as it is, try not cancel! Finally, no matter what happens, when this event is past - give yourself a huge hug and spoil yourself. You did it! This way you will have shown yourself that you can do anything, even when you’re not sleeping much, and it will build your confidence and you will not be afraid of similar events again!

@@thesleepcoachschool8192 Thank you ☺️

@@thesleepcoachschool8192 Hey I tried to do as u said I tried to not think of sleep as important unfortunately I did not end up sleeping even though I braved through it. what annoyed me the most was that i put so much importance on this one event which did not turn out to be great and I lost my sleep because of it. It felt like why on earth did I not sleep because of this event. It was not worth it.

Hi JC! You know how people say that you find things when you’re not looking? Well imagine that you’ve been looking for your glasses for a while and you haven’t been able to find them. Then you remember that people say that you find things when you’re not looking. Then you decide not to look. After about two hours you’re frustrated because even after not looking, you still haven’t found them! The thing here is that, you’re actually still looking for your glasses, because you’re upset that you didn’t find them when you were “not looking.” This is the tricky thing with sleep, it is when you truly aren’t trying to sleep that sleep comes to you. It is not easy but you often have these little magical moments. That one time where you didn’t really think so much about sleep and slept a little more. That time you were not looking. And when you see how not looking, not trying, leads to you finding the thing you’re looking for, then it gets easier and easier. This is the same as when someone says “I tried not to think about sleep as important but I still didn’t sleep”. There was still a desire, an effort, an attempt to sleep there! And you know, the thing that triggers the first trouble sleeping, it’s really not important. It’s our reaction to that first thing that keeps the trouble going. And when our reaction changes, there’s no more trouble!

@@thesleepcoachschool8192 Yes its the frustration and the anger.

Hi Jonah, such an insightful question! I’d say this, when we are “supposed” to be awake daytime, it’s not a threat. But when we are “supposed” to sleep, that’s when we can be afraid - and when we are about to sleep, that’s when there’s a perceived threat of being awake

Mabuhay Edward, hang in there. Sorry to read this but glad you found this channel. Here, check these playlists. You know understanding really is the key to leaving this struggle: This is natto - the perfect place to start learning! kzfaq.info/sun/PL6RQ1GS7B1cik8Xr8iVdxmKB9FYieevYj Success stories - if you need hope and inspiration, this is for you. kzfaq.info/sun/PL6RQ1GS7B1cj68v9hdoXYv_fpOR65oI3U

Edward , I am the same as you and I’m from the Philippines too. I am crying everything for over a month now. I’m on sleeping pills now

@@rochellelooney1220llo did your sleep get better? I am currently struggling right now for about over a month now? On sleeping pills too but only gives me a couple of hours.Did you get help from anyone in the community? I need help. I am so exhausted.

@@LouellaMagtajas I’m back to normal now. You will get better and don’t forget to pray. You need to relax and stop worrying . Do what you need to do like normal before this happen . Trust that you will get better .

@@rochellelooney1220 Hi may I ask what exactly did you do to recover? And how did you taper the meds?Sorry just want to get some ideas. Also I believe you mentioned in one of hour posts that you reached out to Chris? do you still have his contact. I want to reach out to someone too.

Hey Kevin, thanks for being in touch. Sorry to hear you’re still struggling but glad you’re sharing and reaching out. You know, with hyperarousal, it’s very typical to not feel sleepy even if you’re going sleepless at night. And when there’s been this fear about not sleeping, then anything that makes you think “this will affect my sleep” reactivates that fear... This is all very typical and common, nothing strange or unusual. I think what really helps in addition to education is self-kindness. Nobody can control their thoughts or reactions, so when we feel defeated because we didn’t, that’s not actually justified... we have no reason to be hard on ourselves for this.. we can be really kind to ourselves, just talk to ourselves as our grandmother would.. with kind and gentle words.. this helps a bunch! Hang in there Kevin and stay I touch!!

@@thesleepcoachschool8192 hi Daniel you talk about fear of wakefulness keeping you awake what if you have had insomnia or had no sleep at all for such a long time and your brain has become so frightened to sleep that it has now become the norm and you go about you day doing what you can still not tired or sleepy I think you had Ryan on one of your sessions talking about not wanting his brain to do just that. What if (in my case) this has already happened which I firmly believe has. How can you retrain your brain to ,shut down, if it doesn't think it needs it anymore. Very scared and worried on one hand and trying to accept it (which I can't) on the other

Hi Kevin, Yes this is very common, the fear is ever present and the brain is trying all the time to find a solution, whereby thoughts about sleep happen all day long and little sleep happens at night. One of the most common questions I get is how to shut off these thoughts or manage them. And this in itself actually is what keeps them going. Like always when it comes to the mind, what we try to escape, whether it is fear or being awake or racing thoughts, it becomes more prevalent. I use this analogy of signals a lot now, let me share it! - Our brains communicate with us using various signals. Anxiety is a signal that there’s something we should look out for that may potentially hurt us. Pain signals to us that we are getting hurt and we should do something to avoid harm. All our emotions and physical sensations are signals. Now there’s never anything wrong with the signal itself. For example if someone is afraid of spiders, the fear is totally appropriate, because the brain thinks that there’s a real threat. Now what happens often however is that we start looking at the signals as the problem, not seeing that it’s the confusion that is what we should look at! For example, we may start to think that anxiety (a signal) is something that we shouldn’t have so much of. Then what happens is that we try to get away from this signal, which to the brain means… we aren’t hearing the signal! What does the brain do when we aren’t hearing? It sends more of the signal! Now the question becomes this - the signals often are very unpleasant (which is of course the point!) so how to have less signal? It’s to show the brain that we hear the signal. We do this by being willing to experience the discomfort without judgement, without trying to make it stop, just acknowledging it without action. When the brain sees that we are hearing the signal, it stops signaling! So how can we listen in practical reality? Here are three ways! 1 Thought download Write your thoughts and feelings down for 10 minutes daily at a specific time. With no intention but to show the brain we are listening. This can really give the brain an outlet and you can find that it starts postponing warning you until this time. 2 Going there in the mind Imagine the scenario the brain is trying to warn you about. This is a bit scary, but really shows that you’re listening! For example if the brain says “what if I you get fired?” then you can imagine this in detail. The call from your boss, leaving the work place etc. When we are willing to experience something if even just in our minds, then the brain sees that we listen. 3 The Aha method I think this is very practical and effective. When you have a stressful thought you go “Aha! My brain is trying to warn be about losing my job. I see what’s happening here” or “Aha! My bear is racing, that’s normal and expected when there’s some fear!” Literally any thoughts or emotions or physical sensations of hyperarousal can be met with an “Aha!”. It’s a very practical way of listening. - Hope this helps Kevin!

@@kevinlewis473 Hi Kevin, may I ask if your sleep has improved?

@@JBPALU afraid not I am at the stage where I don't sleep at all day or night it is sheer hell and I have paid the price with 3 cardiac arrests and major heart surgery I cannot seem to relax at all and I have a fear of dying in my sleep how do you work that one out

Hi! I replied to another similar comment, hope that helped. But also, let me know what you’re afraid of an I can perhaps guide you better!

Hang in there, when we learn things get easier

True.. but you know, flexibility also often creates a really difficult situation where we catch up by sleeping in or trying to sleep in… and then the cycle of chasing sleep goes on and on… so it can be really hard both if you have obligations and if you have flexibility.. But when we learn and study ourselves, and abandon the struggle… then it gets easier regardless of what we have to do daytime… Hang in there!!

Should specify - noone other than my immediate family.

Hi Nicki, It’s so tricky because emotions like fear, it’s a signal, it’s how our brain communicates with us. And when we try to minimize an emotion, the brain goes “oh, this communication was blocked, I need to try harder.” When we on the other hand are willing to experience emotions, anxiety, hyperarousal, then the communication is received , and the brain does not need to repeat it.

@@thesleepcoachschool8192 It feels hard to overcome because I experience a lot of symptoms. E.g, my sleep issues are over a decade long and suddenly I started getting issues with my eyes (high pressure, sever dry eyes and like an awful fatigue/strain that has been really persistent for months)...I've had all the tests and nothing sinister but long term sleeplessness is contributing to the issue as confirmed with the opthamologist. I am battling with how to take the pressure off myself of not sleeping knowing that it is affecting my eyes, and due to experiencing the physical effects of it the next day - it feels like such a reinforcement of 'sleep is contributing to me being unwell' which reinforces my overarching anxiety story. I am trying an ACT based approach using Russ Harris' books and your content here in accepting my sleep and symptoms but it gets so tricky when constantly presented with the physical reminder that you slept really badly in the form of my eyes hurting all the more. I had a little improvement recently with sleep and then out of nowhere went back to getting approx 3 hrs per night and I am so wired I can't nap (but i rest nonetheless). I am experimenting with some reverse psychology and trying to be braver in terms of doing things that I would never normally do, such as netflix on waking during the night etc...which definitely makes me feel calmer but it feels like such a longstanding loop. On a positive note I am recording all the wisdom from this channel in a 'things to remember' word document - as one liners from different videos, I have placed it next to my computer, so that when i go off on a tangent/down rabbit holes I can stop and read things like, befriend wakefulness, insomnia is a symptom of fear, distance from thoughts, acknowledge the running stories and sit with them, sleep will come when you truly accept wakefulness etc etc...