Insomnia Is a Hyperarousal Issue and Nothing More.

There are many misconceptions about the cause of insomnia. There are beliefs such as a medical condition, medication, a broken sleep system, a circadian rhythm out of alignment, life stress, and so much more causing insomnia. Yes, these can cause disrupted sleep, but they aren't the cause of your insomnia. 

I feel like a broken record saying this again, but I can't state this enough, we overcomplicate our sleep! However, this is totally understandable. When we have insomnia, we have no idea why we experience sleeplessness and try tons of things that fail to make us sleep. Sleep must be pretty complicated if none of those things are working, right? Luckily, it's not.

We get natural and peaceful sleep when we have a high sleep drive and low hyperarousal levels. Sleep drive is simply the level of sleepiness you feel. The less we sleep, the higher the sleep drive.

Sleep drive usually isn't the problem with insomnia unless you are napping a lot during the day. Don't confuse this with the phenomenon that happens when you're wide awake as soon as your head hits the pillow. This is not a sleep drive issue and can be a topic for another week.

 It's important to understand what hyperarousal is since this is what causes insomnia. Hyperarousal is “an abnormal state of increased responsiveness to stimuli that is marked by various physiological and psychological symptoms (such as increased levels of alertness and anxiety and elevated heart rate and respiration)."

 We experience hyperarousal for many reasons, such as our fear of sleeplessness, stress, worry, and frustration about sleep. Also, from our focus on sleep in general, puzzlement, preoccupation, and endless attempts to try and escape sleeplessness.

Every time we try to escape sleeplessness and all these feelings I listed; we reinforce to the brain that there is a "threat" out there. Our fight or flight system is activated and strengthens our hyperarousal levels even more.

All the emotions, feelings, and physical effects that you experience when you have high hyperarousal levels are messages from your brain that there is a threat out there. If you try to calm your hyperarousal levels with meditation, calming tea, or anything else with the purpose of relaxing, your brain thinks you are ignoring it and will amplify the messages even further. It's just your brain trying to keep you safe.

The best thing to do is notice when you are trying to make yourself relax. Understanding that these attempts to calm your nervous system can only strengthen them. Noticing when you attempt to do them without judgment is a big step in the right direction. 

Understanding everything about hyperarousal puts you way ahead of most people with insomnia. You can experience many symptoms from hyperarousal that can feel scary but know that it's totally normal and that you are safe. Nothing bad will happen to you. Just be aware of when you attempt to decrease hyperarousal symptoms and learn to be with them without judgment. This is what will lead you toward more sleep.

If you want to break the insomnia cycle, download my FREE 5-step guide. It's the best place to start your journey to overcoming insomnia. Download Here