How to Stop Trying Too Hard to Sleep

There are two things almost everybody with insomnia does at night. Both of them feed the alarm in your brain. And both feel so automatic you might not even notice you’re doing them. I did both of them...

22 Aug 5min

Here's what I used to do at night when I had insomnia before I finally fixed it.A book. A podcast. A show. I listened to a video. Something I like that can take my mind off of the anxiety at 2 am.I kn...

15 Aug 4min

Here is an idea that might sound strange at first.What if your goal at night was not to fall asleep? What if it was just to feel calm, even while you are awake?I know that sounds odd. You are reading ...

8 Aug 4min

Try this. Set a timer for five minutes. Sit still. Just watch what your brain does.You might start by noticing something in the room. That reminds you of yesterday. That reminds you of an errand you n...

1 Aug 4min

Here is something that sounds simple but is hard to live by. Just because you think something does not make it true.We treat our thoughts like they are facts. A thought shows up."I will never sleep no...

25 Jul 4min

There is a kind of thinking that keeps insomnia going. If you have been awake at 3 a.m., you know it well.One thought shows up."If I don't sleep soon, tomorrow will be ruined."Then another one."What i...

18 Jul 4min

Some feelings are really hard to sit with. Like when you feel scared at bedtime. Or upset after another bad night. Or worried about how tomorrow will go.When a feeling like this shows up, we want to p...

11 Jul 4min

Picture this.You're standing at the edge of a bottomless pit. On the other side stands a monster, huge, terrifying, impossibly strong.A rope stretches across the pit between you, and you're both pulli...

4 Jul 4min