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I’ve had huge issues with falling asleep for years, and have had two big changes in the last 2 years that have completely changed things for me. The first was b

I’ve had huge issues with falling asleep for years, and have had two big changes in the last 2 years that have completely changed things for me. The first was being diagnosed with anxiety and learning about mindful breathing activities, essentially just throwing on the headspace or calm apps while in bed allowed me to drift off very quickly after a 10-20min session. The second big thing was having a baby. 7 months in and I can fall asleep anywhere at anytime simply because I’m so utterly exhausted all the time. I’d recommend trying the breathing first.

npinsker 5y ago
In my experience, anxiety-induced insomnia is an entirely different beast. I went through CBT-i and had a strongly negative experience: its strict rules made bed and bedtime feel like a prison (now I can't even lie quietly in my bed?!), and it made my insomnia even worse. More generally, "optimizing" for sleep, thinking about it at all, seems like a horribly counterproductive thing to do for somebody anxious. Mindfulness meditation has been an enormous help for me also. It's not an exaggeration to say it's been life-changing. Vigorous exercise (it needs to be vigorous) as much as possible has also been great.
- tinyhouse 5y ago
  Can you recommend a path to start with mindfulness meditation?
  - npinsker 5y ago
    Headspace (or similar apps? I haven't tried others) is great. If you're feeling up to it, the program I'd most strongly recommend is mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), which asks for 45 minutes from you every day for 8 weeks. It was hard for me to be still for so long at first, but gets easier surprisingly quickly.
    - tinyhouse 5y ago
      Thank you! Are you referring to this course or something else? https://palousemindfulness.com/ https://palousemindfulness.com/
  - wasnthere 5y ago
    Get this book(let) pronto - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/545899/how-to-relax-by-thich-nhat-hanh/ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/545899/how-to-relax... Did wonders for me in terms of helping me “empty my mind” and therefore relax, sleep well etc. I would strongly recommend getting apps like Headspace, Calm after you’ve internalized the “theory” of the practice of relaxation. Good luck!

npinsker 5y ago

In my experience, anxiety-induced insomnia is an entirely different beast. I went through CBT-i and had a strongly negative experience: its strict rules made bed and bedtime feel like a prison (now I can't even lie quietly in my bed?!), and it made my insomnia even worse. More generally, "optimizing" for sleep, thinking about it at all, seems like a horribly counterproductive thing to do for somebody anxious. Mindfulness meditation has been an enormous help for me also. It's not an exaggeration to say it's been life-changing. Vigorous exercise (it needs to be vigorous) as much as possible has also been great.

tinyhouse 5y ago
Can you recommend a path to start with mindfulness meditation?
- npinsker 5y ago
  Headspace (or similar apps? I haven't tried others) is great. If you're feeling up to it, the program I'd most strongly recommend is mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), which asks for 45 minutes from you every day for 8 weeks. It was hard for me to be still for so long at first, but gets easier surprisingly quickly.
  - tinyhouse 5y ago
    Thank you! Are you referring to this course or something else? https://palousemindfulness.com/ https://palousemindfulness.com/
- wasnthere 5y ago
  Get this book(let) pronto - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/545899/how-to-relax-by-thich-nhat-hanh/ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/545899/how-to-relax... Did wonders for me in terms of helping me “empty my mind” and therefore relax, sleep well etc. I would strongly recommend getting apps like Headspace, Calm after you’ve internalized the “theory” of the practice of relaxation. Good luck!