Should you only go to bed when sleepy? - Sleep Myths Debunked 

It's always best to watch the entire video so that you can see the step-by-step explanation of how I work with this in my practice helping clients. 

But here are some chapters for you:

00:00 Introduction to only going to bed when sleepy

01:18 Teaching Sleep Skills for Life

02:24 Definition of 'sleepy' and learning how to look for signs

04:10 What I use instead when working with sleep coaching clients

08:36 Your expectations when feeling 'sleepy'

11:40 Should you get out of bed if you don't feel sleepy in bed

14:32 Conclusions to only going to bed when sleepy

In today’s sleep myths debunked video, we’ll talk about the idea that you should only go to bed when sleepy.

This is something that gets talked about quite frequently these days. Waiting to be sleepy, tired or even exhausted is a common practice especially if you’ve struggled with insomnia and sleep problems for a longer period of time. 

If you don’t feel sleepy enough to fall asleep, you might wait to go to bed for much longer. And even if you then go to bed, it’s not guaranteed that you’ll fall asleep easily once you are in bed. So this idea of you waiting to go to bed when sleepy doesn’t always work out very well. 

First of all, let’s talk about what sleepiness might feel like to you. Over the years of working with clients, every person had a different definition of what sleepy felt like to them. 

This is an important first thing to talk about. If you don’t know how to feel sleepy and you’re unsure what it means in a truly practical way than you might be going to bed even if you don’t feel sleepy at night.

My definition of how to feel sleepy will be probably very different to what others might say. Over the years of working with clients, sleepiness and tiredness has become incredibly overrated. To get ready for bed, you need more than just the feeling of sleepy or tired.

So this sleep myth that you have to feel sleepy or tired when you go to bed is often mislead and causes more problems. 

When I work with clients on helping them overcome long-term insomnia and sleep problems, going through what it takes physically, emotionally and mentally to prepare for bed and rest and relaxation is really important. Especially if you don’t feel sleepy at all or you might feel sleepy but can’t fall asleep once you’re in bed. 

Unfortunately, general sleep advice on not staying in bed if you can’t fall asleep also led to more confusion about this sleepiness, tiredness and how it relates to your ability to successfully fall asleep easily.

If you have any questions about what I shared with you in today’s video, or another myths or advice you’ve seen online, feel free to let me know. 

Beatrix