3 Myths About Insomnia That Keep You Stuck

3 Sleep Myths About Insomnia That Keep You Stuck

There are three insomnia myths that you are probably following that are only keeping you stuck.

I’m an insomnia coach, and I had to learn what kept me stuck. I have also helped many clients figure out what’s keeping them stuck so that they could overcome insomnia as well.

So let’s dive into the first insomnia myth that keeps you stuck, which is…..

MYTH #1: GETTING OUT OF BED WHEN YOU CAN’T SLEEP

This old rule from the CBTi world says that if you don’t fall asleep within 10 minutes, then get out of bed and do something relaxing until you are tired enough to go back and try again.

This will supposedly keep you from associating the bed with sleeplessness and starting to fear the bed.

In theory, this makes a lot of sense, but in reality, it can also cause trouble.

First off, it's not the bed you associate with sleeplessness and fear; it’s the fear of sleeplessness itself. When climbing into bed, you start thinking, “What if you don’t sleep? This triggers fear.

If you instead face that fear and show your brain that you are safe, then that will lead to more sleep with time.

MYTH #2: Stay off the electronics before bed.

Ok, this isn’t a myth, and there is some truth to it, but I don’t promote this when you have insomnia.

When we are on electronics, they emit a blue light which can delay our sleep a bit. This is true.

However, if you have insomnia and are up at night stressing out and frustrated that you are awake, that will delay your sleep much more than electronics.

If you, instead, shifted your focus away from the fact that you can’t sleep and stressing about it to watching a show that you enjoy and maybe even puts a smile on your face, you will more than makeup for the lost sleep from being on electronics. 

Getting off electronics is something you can consider once you are 100% recovered from insomnia, but in the meantime, why not enjoy them? 

You could always buy blue light-blocking glasses to wear. I don’t know if they really work, but that’s what I do.

I still fall asleep to a show on my iPad.

MYTH #3: NOTHING HAS WORKED, SO SLEEPING PILLS ARE THE ONLY ANSWER.

I remember the feeling of desperation that lead me to sleeping pills. I tried almost everything out there and finally gave in to sleeping pills. 

It’s easy to start to believe that there is nothing else to try and that you will have to be on sleeping pills forever.

However, sleeping pills don’t actually cure your insomnia because they aren’t going after the root cause of your insomnia. 

When you are on sleeping pills, they tend to only “work” temporarily and not for the long term. You can still have days where they don’t work, and the fear of sleeplessness is still there.

You haven’t dealt with the underlying cause of insomnia. 

By the way, if you want to know the underlying reason for your insomnia and how to overcome your insomnia, make sure you download my free 5-step guide to overcoming insomnia at www.katelingates.com/5simplesteps

I promise you that there is hope and that you can overcome chronic insomnia.

If you want to learn more about another mistake that kept me stuck, I have a separate blog post/video dedicated to one big mistake that I made. Click here to watch it.

Learn from a mistake I made when  I had insomnia: 

https://www.katelingates.com/blog/learn-from-a-mistake-i-made-when-i-had-insomnia