When you are awake in bed and anxious, doing nothing often makes things worse.

Silence gives your mind too much room.

And when your mind has space at night, it fills it with worry.

1. You replay the day.
2. You predict tomorrow.
3. You analyze your sleep.
4. You judge yourself.

This is why a helpful option is doing something pleasant in bed.

Not something stimulating.

Not something stressful.

Just something gently engaging.

1. You might read a familiar book (not a boring one, per se).
2. You might listen to a podcast or audiobook.
3. You might watch or listen to something calm

The goal is not distraction for the sake of escape.

The goal is to make wakefulness less threatening.

When being awake feels miserable, your nervous system stays on high alert.

When being awake feels tolerable, your nervous system begins to soften.

That softening is what matters.

This approach goes against many sleep rules you may have heard.

But rules do not calm anxiety.

Feeling safe does.

And safety is personal.

If screens overstimulate you, avoid them.

If watching something on a TV helps you feel more at ease, allow it.

Anxiety is the real problem here, not light.

As you do your chosen activity, let go of expectations.

You are not doing this to fall asleep.

You are doing this to stop fighting wakefulness.

Ironically, that makes sleep more likely.

Pay gentle attention to your body.

If your eyes grow heavy.

If you start yawning.

If your head begins to nod.

That is a sign of sleepiness.

When that happens, stop the activity.

Close your eyes.

And see if sleep is ready.

If it is not, that is okay.

You can return to the activity.

You can switch to mindfulness.

You can simply rest.

There is no correct sequence.

There is no failure state.

Some nights this will feel easier.

Some nights, your anxiety will still be loud.

That does not mean you are regressing.

Progress through insomnia is not linear.

What matters is how you respond.

Each time you choose kindness over force, you lower the Sleep-Stopping Force.

Over time, your nervous system learns that nighttime is no longer a performance.

It becomes just another part of life.

You may worry that doing activities in bed will reinforce wakefulness.

But the opposite is usually true.

What reinforces insomnia is fear.

What dissolves it is acceptance.

By making peace with being awake, you remove the urgency that keeps sleep away.

You are not training yourself to be awake.

You are training yourself to stop panicking about wakefulness.

And once panic fades, sleep often arrives quietly.

Without effort.

Without strategy.

Just like it used to.

If you're looking to recover from insomnia for good in as little as 8 weeks, schedule a Complimentary Sleep Consult to see if we can help.

To peaceful sleep,

Ivo at End Insomnia

Why should you listen to me?

I recovered from insomnia after 5 brutal years of...