Absolutely, and be confident that by learning about the reality of sleep and continuing to work your plan, yes it will get better.

Were you under an unusual amount of stress or anxiety the previous day before your bad night? Either of those can affect sleep.

And I also agree acceptance is a great tool to use. Just accept whatever rest you do get, even if not actual sleep, is OK. Relax and go with it, and be confident your biological requirement for sleep is actually much stronger than your insomnia.

I don't feel like I was under more stress than usual. I have just had more anxiety dealing w/ the current bout of insomnia. When I was jolted awake for no reason, it caused me to be anxious. Yes, tonight I will just try to rest in bed and not worry about falling asleep, just resting my body. It seems to be the only thing that works right now. Thanks!

I totally understand where you are coming from. I was just saying this the other day, how I get into a good sleep pattern finally and then out of no where I cant sleep for days . Sleep deprivation is a horrible ting to experience because it affects both physically and emotionally and I know for me I cannot function at all without rest. I was wondering if you feel wired when you wake up during the night , because that is what happens to me. I hope that you start to get back into beter sleep mode soon

Hi Molly,

I've had similar experiences. I will be doing great with my sleep, and then for some reason all of a sudden, I'll start waking up in the middle of the night or waking up way too early. It really can cause anxiety when your sleep is disturbed.

It does help to talk yourself down to a place of calmness, and just rest. I find if I can do this, I'll end up falling asleep without even knowing it.

Wishing you the best!
Sonny

I've been on spring break and am as close to stress free as you can be and I'm starting to have problems again. I think mine might be from sleeping to much/not having a consistent bed time/watching to much night tv. As for you, I'd just try to focus on the positive things in your life. Try to do something fun everyday regardless of whether you slept well or not. That's what I'm going to do to try get back on track.

Frequent urination sounds like anxiety to me! Remember, Molly, what you said to me, and I quote: "There is no magic formula but you can get through this without drugs, unless,of course, you have a mental illness." Is anxiety a mental illness, in your opinion?
So the lavender and chamomile tea isn't helping? Good luck!

Thank you everyone for your replies. I really appreciate the support. You have no idea how much it helps to have other people who have experienced similar things. Luna - I will fall asleep almost instantly and then very soon after pop wide awake and then anxiety kicks in. It's really weird. Sadie - I am having anxiety from this bout of insomnia but I have never been diagnosed w/ a mental illness. I had horrible insomnia coming off of abusing drugs though, so I think when I can't sleep it takes me back to that time and makes me anxious. I went an unbelievable amount of time w/ out sleeping. It is not anything close to that this time, thank goodness.

Hi Molly
Here are a few reasons why this could be happening....

Jumping awake after a short period of sleep can be caused by low blood sugar...the adrenaline response kicks in when blood sugar is low!
This gives you the feeling of anxiety!

I have had this problem for years due to hormone imbalance(thyroid)
I usually have hot chocolate drink with a couple of biscuits before sleep
But I do need sleep meds aswell as it went on for years unchecked!

Sleep Apneoa can also cause this type of response!

I would also get blood sugar checked as frequent urination during the night is one of the first signs of a blood sugar problem!

The brain can also very quickly get into the habit of waking up from sleep so it's important to try and break the habit before it starts!

Here are some simple tips you may want to try if you are trying to create a calm atmosphere in the bedroom to aid restful sleep

Turn your clock so that you cannot see the time..this sound bizarre but it works!

Try not to have your mobile in your bedroom especially near your head
Switch off wifi/internet at night, turn off all electronic gadgets ipads etc!

Try to avoid watching too much TV too late and don't have it on standby switch off at main socket! I have never had a TV in my bedroom!

Keep a note pad by your bed and write things down that are on your mind... if you have a lot of stuff going on as once you have written it down you can forget about it until tomorrow!

I have done this for many years since I was young when I was working in a stressful job it worked as I often remembered things I would need to do.

Hope this goes some way to help in trying to resolve your sleep disorder?!

Oh one other thing

Cut out all caffeine...just one or two cups in the morning. Switch to decaffeinated coffee and tea after mid morning.
You may have to reduce the caffeine gradually if you drink a lot of it as you will suffer withdrawal symptoms.