UNPOPULAR OPINION: Don’t go to bed at the same time every night!

UNPOPULAR OPINION: Don’t go to bed at the same time every night!

Yes, you read that correctly. You are probably used to hearing sleep experts tell you that you need to go to bed at the same time every night.

However, this logic has a flaw, and I will share with you why it can actually make your insomnia worse. 

REASON #1: Pressure & Performance Anxiety

First, you should not go to bed at the same time every night if you have insomnia because it creates a lot of pressure and performance anxiety to sleep. 

As your bedtime gets closer, that pressure builds, and you have thoughts of what if I don’t sleep? What if I am awake at night?

So then you decide to go to bed whether you are tired or night and have performance anxiety on top of it. At this point,  you're not going to end up sleeping.

Then as your set bedtime passes, you start to stress, feel like a failure, like there is something wrong with you, worry, and your hyperarousal levels are way up. How do you think that is going to affect your sleep?

You're not going to sleep.

Tip #1: Create a Timeless Window

Moving onto my next tip for not going to bed at the same time every night if you have insomnia, and it is to create a timeless window.

How you do this is you pick a wake-up time that you want to get up at the same time every day. Then you subtract eight hours from this time. So, if you're going to get up at 7 am, for example, then eight hours before this would be 11 pm.

This time is not going to be your bedtime. Instead, it will be the time that you make sure you can’t see the time anywhere before and at bedtime. You aren’t going to bed at a specific time; instead, you go to bed when you feel sleepy.

Another benefit of doing this is that once you are sleeping better again, you will find your optimal sleep amount. 

We can guess how much sleep we think our body needs, but in the end, it is just a guess. Our bodies' sleep needs change daily depending on hormones, stress, how much exercise we get, and so much more. 

Our needs also change with age, so if you think you need eight or nine hours as you did years ago, that can change.

Creating this timeless window lets your body decide. Not some arbitrary bedtime.

I hope these tips helped. By following a timeless window, you will get better quality sleep than if you had followed a strict bedtime, and you will have a bit more energy to get through your day.

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Now by this point, you might be wondering what to do when you are wide awake at night. 

That’s why your next step is to watch this video, where I’ll teach you exactly what you should do so that your night can be more peaceful and you can get more sleep.

https://youtu.be/xPjELTypgaQ