Even if you have chronic insomnia, sleep drive always wins — you can sleep and you will sleep!

If you have been living with insomnia for a long time, it can be so easy to believe that you have lost the ability to sleep or that you can no longer sleep naturally. The truth is, we never lose our ability to sleep — and, if we are awake for long enough, we will always sleep — no matter how worried or anxious we might be.

This is an important point to make since so much of our worry about sleep is connected to the thought that we have somehow forgotten how to sleep or that we are going to live with insomnia forever.

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Unfortunately, our arousal system is great at suspending sleep whenever we feel worried or concerned about sleep. However, the arousal system cannot suspend sleep forever.

By recognizing that sleep drive never goes away, and combining this knowledge with a regular and appropriate sleep window, you will start to sleep at night, and your sleep will become more predictable and more consistent.

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Sleep drive continues to build with every passing minute of wakefulness — so, as long as you don't do anything to reduce this accumulating sleep drive (for example by sleeping during the day, going to bed earlier, staying in bed later, trying to conserve energy during the day), you will — sooner or later — sleep during your sleep window.

As you start to get more sleep during your sleep window, you will start to regain confidence in your ability to sleep and this will make sleep easier. As sleep becomes easier, you will worry less about sleep — and this makes sleep even easier. The result is long term improvement in your sleep.

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My name is Martin Reed and I am the founder of Insomnia Coach®. I offer sleep coaching services that give people with insomnia all the skills and support they need to enjoy better sleep for the rest of their lives. I also offer a free two-week sleep training course for people with insomnia at https://insomniacoach.com/sleep-train...

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All content found on the Insomnia Coach YouTube channel is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice or medical treatment and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or other licensed healthcare provider. All content is provided as is, and without warranties.

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