Are you worried you’ll never fall asleep? Here’s a simple sleep hack to overcome sleep struggles.

“But what if I don’t fall asleep?” That’s a question many people worry about when they struggle to fall asleep. It’s the fear of never being able to go to bed that keeps people up all night, especially anxious people.

In this Youtube video I talk about a simple shift in thinking that can help you turn that anxious thought on it’s head.

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This video is made for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace medical advice.

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[chrisobrien]

I think one thing that fuels the fear of sleeplessness for so many of us is hearing medical experts pontificate and lecture us about how important sleep is and how detrimental it is when we dont get enough of it. That honestly just fans the obsessive flame. It sucks!

[marianreign]

Okay here we go again. Me sitting here shaking and my heart plumpling, sweating and i thinking/worrying i can't sleep

[AFrick-fm]

I worry about not sleeping affecting my health

[muhammadwaqar]

This is a constant struggle to all out there remember one thing it's just our thoughts which disturb us. You will not die of sleep deprivation. No body does by GOD will. It's a phobia and irrational fear. Keep functioning normal .your body will automatically adjust itself according to need . That's how it is made

[wendyj.]

This helped me get sleep last night! Ive been struggling with anxiety for most of my adult life. I’m embracing the fact that I deal with my thoughts differently than others, but I am learning coping skills that are going to help me get better. To those struggling with this, know that you are not crazy, you will not go crazy, you will not die, you will get through this. You will find ways to cope with your anxiety and you will be stronger because of it! Look at how many people are going through exactly what you are going through, it’s very common.

[Bruhntosaur]

I've spent entire weeks in fight or flight mode because I was afraid I would just remain awake until I lost my mind and eventually died. I got over it but am having another bad episode now. This video is great for this insomnia and anxiety as a whole. Thank you for making it.

[gainingsomeirlxp]

Bro, if you can’t fall asleep, its okay, relax, you got this!

[NomanKhan-imze]

When she said you are not alone” in the beginning i gloomed up! :D

[camiliademanins]

i can't believe i never watched this video before. this is so incredibly helpful! this is the exact reason why i have insomnia. people dont understand and i feel so alone. also reading these comments helps a lot, because i never met anyone with sleep anxiety. i always feel guilty for doing this to myself and for worrying about the most natural thing in the world. i hate the way i feel when i dont sleep, which creates a never ending cycle.

[MichaelNVADE]

Thats what I did with hypnic jerks. I just eventually embraced them and stopped giving them power over my mind. Eventually they went away. Took me 2 months to finally break that chain.

[Kailcratos]

"The body will demand sleep when its ready" made me feel better

[Dajlec]

I have been struggling with this for 1.5 years now, sometimes months go by being ok, sometimes I struggle every day...I have started having this issues after going through hell dealing with the unexpected death of my 2 year old son.
When the night comes, I become all alone, and the terror comes and all the sadness. And to top it off, a thought, what if I will never be able to sleep again.
Some nights I just lay in terror waiting to fall asleep.
Sometimes distraction helps other times it just causes me more pain.

Antidepressants and talk therapy helped but it really comes down to accepting things as they are and not try to fight them.
The problem for me also is, that after a hard night I have trouble finding any joy in life the next day, I feel depressed.
This video really helped, thank you.

[niemela]

this is exactly what ive been going through in my head! what are the odds that you post a video about it 2 nights after. thanks :)

[idontlikeavocado]

haven't slept for 30+ hours, tried sleeping several times but each time i feel like im falling asleep i rapidly get adrenaline, my heart starts racing and its like mini anxiety attack, im so tired

[quickpstuts]

OMG! Yes, the constant checking and fighting was it for me. The main issue a lot of us here have is we are ALREADY people who struggle with some sort of anxiety, OCD or worry....maybe even health anxiety.

Sleep anxiety is so much more common in people who have a history of anxiety.

I wasn't freaking out about being tired, but the long term health effects we always hear about. The trickiest part is those health effects are REAL. It's scary when you feel your heart racing or pounding due to stress so trying not to focus on those when you've had LONG TERM sleep issues is hard.

However, the truth is, if anxiety is the main problem, it's completely curable with work and time. That is what I had to keep telling myself. Also, the body has an AMAZING recovery system. We can heal.

Also, I would offset my bad sleep a bit with positive things during the day like yoga, walking, nutrition, deep breathing (HUGELY helpful when you do it 15-20 x's a day). The deep breathing was a game-changer for my chronic fast heartbeat from anxiety and lack of sleep!!!! You have to do it multiple times per day though with emphasis on a LOOONG loud exhale!!

I have been dealing with poor sleep since 2021 off and on and I'm much better now. Here's what else helped me...

Mindfulness and acceptance has been the way out for me. It's hard at first because your inclination is to keep checking and wondering when you will sleep. I turned my clock on its face and that helped a LOT!

Stretching!! I was shocked at how well this worked. I thought we had to calm our brains first, but actually relieving tension in your muscles helps calm the brain too! When your muscles are relaxed, your brain followers. I bought a massage gun to do my neck and shoulders. Most of us are already too tense.

Saying calming words to myself over and over again like "Calm, Sleep, Relax etc." Just keep repeating. This works so well for me. Sometimes I'll yawn after just 2 minutes, that means my body is relaxing.

I recommend journaling about your progress so you can make note of how things have improved. It's so easy to focus on the big picture, but there is always something to celebrate. The small wins matter.

For example, you might notice that after listening to enjoyable podcasts before bed that your sleep has improved by one extra hour compared to last week. Those small improvements go a long way for your mental, and let's face it, this is 100% mental for many of us!

At first, it's hard to focus on ANYTHING but checking in with yourself, but over time it gets better.

But it definitely takes time when you have a habit of worrying. It's not going to fix itself in a few days if anxiety is chronic in your life. But yes, focusing too much on your sleep is the way to keep you stuck. Great video!

[Imxo]

Please make another video on sleep! I’m so scared to sleep because I’m scared I won’t ever sleep or I won’t get enough sleep and I’ll get ill. I hate that feeling and I’m constantly counting the hours I sleep please help me I’m struggling

[jeffzest]

What if have benzodiazepine protracted withdrawal when body dies not sleep on its own?

[samarthkulkarni]

We are all struggling to get rid of fear and sleep peacefully. I have this problem since a very long time, I sleep every night, even though I overthink of not getting proper sleep. I try to not overthink and sleep, but somehow that fears me and keeps me awake. I thought, nobody goes through such things, but I see so many people here, we need to motivate ourselves and get rid of this and make our mental health strong.

[ripihy]

thank you 💗i have super bad sleep anxiety and i always worry about not having enough sleep, especially because i have work tomorrow. i need to remind myself that it is okay if i don’t sleep. it happens, and i will work around it, and handle it.

[erikaolivia]

I haven’t slept in weeks, done everything, tried every medicine even dr prescribed. NOTHING is working and I feel like I’m dying. I understand 1 or 2 nights but not weeks