From Romano Constantine R. I'm having a hard time sleeping. I usually fall asleep at 8:00 PM then suddenly wake up at 11:00 PM. Afterwards, I cannot sleep anymore until 3 or 4 AM. Worst is 5 AM. How can I solve this? And my reply:
For as long as I can remember I've had vivid dreams with recurring themes & spaces (some very arbitrary, like a specific beachfront home when I go years without seeing the coast/getting stuck in public bathrooms when I have no anxiety or trauma irl) that remain with me during the day & now give me anxiety about going to sleep? Any advice, thoughts or experiences? Maybe regarding dream interpretation even?
In response to Taylor M I posted what’s really useful for everyone: The 3 major factors involving sleep and wake states are: sleep drive, circadian (wake) drive and physiological arousal or stress level. Sleep drive is met when you’ve been awake enough hours to make you sleepy. Exercise, good nutrition and taking care of the other two factors provides good sleep. Circadian requires both regularity (getting up and exposed to strong light the same time daily most important for setting your internal circadian clock/rhythm (and little to no blue light exposure after sundown. Stress level needs to be “managed” as best as possible given life in western society these days! If we don’t offload the stresses of the day then we may have difficulty getting to sleep, or awaken in the middle of the night and not return to sleep for awhile or the rest of the sleep period. Any practice that elicits the “Relaxation Response”, eg sitting meditation, moving meditations (tai chi, qi gong, yoga) nature walks, mindfulness, or guided meditation apps, done at least once, better if twice, for 5-15 minutes can be enough in most cases. Feel free to ask more specific questions.
