If your long-term goal is to sleep well in your own bed, it's usually a good idea to avoid sleeping anywhere other than your own bed. Every minute of sleep you get on the couch, for example, is a minute spent reinforcing an association between the couch and sleep rather than the bed and sleep.

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In other words, every minute spent sleeping on the couch is a minute of missed opportunity to create a stronger association between your own bed and sleep.

Only allowing yourself to sleep in your own bed might lead to some additional sleep disruption in the short term as you begin to retrain yourself to associate the bed with sleep — but, thanks to the undeniable power of sleep drive, if you only allow yourself to sleep in your own bed then that is where you will start to sleep.

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Now, don’t get me wrong, sometimes the temptation to sleep somewhere else — especially in the middle of the night when you might feel desperate for sleep — can be overwhelming! For example, you might get out of bed during the night because being in bed doesn’t feel good. You might move to the couch to read or watch some TV — so far, so good.

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You might then start to feel very sleepy and you are faced with two choices. Stay where you are and fall asleep on the couch or return to bed and run the risk of feeling wide awake again and finding it hard to fall asleep again.

Of course, the simple solution is simply to fall asleep on the couch, especially if you know from experience that returning to bed at this point might lead to difficulty falling asleep. Sometimes, though, it can be worth dealing with some short-term pain to enjoy a long-term gain!

Another issue I come across is that clients want to make their own bed a strong trigger for sleep by only allowing themselves to sleep in their own bed, but they find themselves waking after unintentionally falling asleep during the night somewhere else.

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It can be helpful to avoid lying down when you aren’t in your bed. Secondly, if you find a specific activity often leads to you falling asleep with little warning, it might be worth trying an alternative nighttime activity — one that requires a small amount of movement (for example, stretching, writing, or drawing) might be helpful.

Lastly, it can be helpful to make sure that you go to bed as soon as you feel those first symptoms of sleepiness during your sleep window — the head bobbing, the heavy eyes, etc.

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My name is Martin Reed and I am the founder of Insomnia Coach®. I offer sleep coaching services that give people with insomnia all the skills and support they need to enjoy better sleep for the rest of their lives. I also offer a free two-week sleep training course for people with insomnia at [ Ссылка ]

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All content found on the Insomnia Coach YouTube channel is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.

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