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The Counterintuitive Method That Cured My Insomnia
What to try when all the sleep hygiene in the world isn’t working
The insomnia struck without warning, smack into my pretty good life. After easily falling asleep one night, I woke three hours later, unable to drift off again. It happened the next night, and the next. After a few days, I was exhausted. After a week I was a wreck, snapping at my kids, zoning out at work, no longer trusting myself to drive.
“Women tend to experience sleep disturbances around menopause,” my doctor said. I repressed the urge to roll my eyes. Once I hit my forties, no matter what issue brought me to the medical office, menopause always seemed to top the list of usual suspects. I left with a prescription for a week’s worth of sleeping pills and an assurance that the meds would let me rest and reset my sleep schedule.
“I had tried it all… I’d upped my sleep hygiene, banishing chocolate and wine and electronics before bedtime. I’d been screened for depression and sleep apnea. Nothing helped.”
I got some rest. But when the pills ran out, the insomnia was still there.
Four months later, by the time my doctor finally referred me to a sleep specialist, I had tried it all: melatonin, vitamins, soothing podcasts. I’d upped my sleep hygiene, banishing chocolate and wine and electronics before bedtime. I’d been screened for depression and sleep apnea. Nothing helped.
Desperately sleep deprived and deeply skeptical, I told myself I’d do whatever this sleep guru recommended. But would anything really change?
When I heard what the specialist proposed, I figured the answer was a definitive no. He wanted me to spend less time in bed — the one place I had any hope of rest. Only the three impressive diplomas on his wall kept me nodding along.
Yes, I admitted, I did lie awake in bed when I couldn’t sleep. (What else was I going to do?) And yes, I went to bed early and stayed in bed late, hoping that maybe, maybe, I would catch an extra hour.
