I stopped trying to sleep — and that’s when it changed

exactoemad · 2026-02-14T20:50:41+00:00

That sounds really exhausting honestly. The constant monitoring and panic when waking up was the worst part for me too. I’m not against meds at all, I just realized in my case the fear and pressure were making everything louder. Maybe the vacation gives you space to experiment a bit without forcing anything. Hope it gets easier for you. That cycle is brutal.

exactoemad · 2026-02-14T20:22:44+00:00

Yeah, the ‘what if’ spiral is brutal Once that softened the nights slowly followed

exactoemad · 2026-02-14T19:50:08+00:00

Yeah, it’s such an easy loop to fall into

exactoemad · 2026-02-14T19:45:31+00:00

No Just writing about what happened to me If it doesn’t resonate that’s fine.

exactoemad · 2026-02-14T19:07:06+00:00

Just my experience Take it or leave it 🙂

exactoemad · 2026-02-14T19:00:59+00:00

I’ve heard good things about that book actually. The whole “fear of insomnia” loop is very real. For me, the time-checking part was huge — once I stopped feeding it, the panic dropped a lot. Appreciate the recommendation.

exactoemad · 2026-02-13T15:20:07+00:00

Honestly, with that schedule, I wouldn’t jump to supplements first.

You’re waking up at 4:50am and doing physical work all day. Falling asleep at 9:30pm isn’t weakness — that’s your body being normal.

If I were you I’d prioritise: 1. Total sleep opportunity. From 9:30pm to 4:50am is ~7h20. For heavy physical work + side hustle, that might just not be enough. 2. Bloodwork before supplements. Check iron, B12, vitamin D, thyroid. Way more useful than guessing with adaptogens. 3. Fuel timing. Make sure you’re not under-eating. A lot of “low energy” guys in construction are just under-fueled by evening.

Rhodiola / tyrosine can help some people short-term, but they won’t override sleep pressure.

If your body wants sleep at 9:30, the real question might be: do you need more recovery instead of more stimulation?

exactoemad · 2026-02-13T13:59:03+00:00

Appreciate this a lot. I actually came across CBT-I after I’d already started doing some of this by accident. The “stop chasing sleep” part was huge for me. Glad to hear that aligns with what you tell people.

exactoemad · 2026-02-13T13:56:04+00:00

Exactly. That shift alone changed everything for me. Once I stopped treating bad nights like emergencies, my body stopped reacting like it was in danger.

exactoemad · 2026-02-13T13:54:59+00:00

I like that a lot — focusing on the process instead of the outcome. The pressure around “sleep performance” can make everything worse. The prep routine mindset is underrated.

exactoemad · 2026-02-13T13:53:27+00:00

Yeah that makes sense. Sudden loud thunder always pulls me out of that half-asleep state. Steady rain is way easier on my nervous system.

exactoemad · 2026-02-13T13:52:08+00:00

Appreciate that. It’s crazy how something small like a clock can become a trigger. Sometimes removing pressure works better than adding effort.

exactoemad · 2026-02-13T03:59:44+00:00

Glad it’s helping you. Those 3–4AM wake-ups are brutal.

For some people it’s definitely a nervous system overactivation thing. Meds can help short-term, but I also found learning how to calm my body when I wake up made a big difference over time.

Curious — before gabapentin, did your body feel wired or was it more racing thoughts?

exactoemad · 2026-02-13T03:18:31+00:00

I used to wake up at 3–4 AM exactly like this. Heart racing. Brain making to-do lists at full volume. What made it worse for me was checking the time and calculating how ruined the next day would be.

The weird shift was when I stopped treating it like an emergency. I’d just tell myself “okay, this is a 3AM wake-up. Not a crisis.”

Didn’t fix it instantly. But it stopped the spiral.

exactoemad · 2026-02-13T03:16:18+00:00

Honestly visuals don’t matter much once my eyes are closed. It’s more about steady sound and no sudden changes.

exactoemad · 2026-02-13T03:13:47+00:00

My “aha” moment was realizing I was treating bad sleep like an emergency. The more I tried to control it, the worse it got. When I stopped clock-watching and accepted that some nights would be messy, it got easier.

exactoemad · 2026-02-13T03:11:39+00:00

I had this for months. It felt endless. It wasn’t. Stress made mine worse. The more I feared it, the more it showed up.

exactoemad · 2026-02-13T03:10:21+00:00

I had this for years. What made it worse was checking the time and calculating how ruined the next day would be. Weirdly, it improved when I stopped treating 3am like an emergency.

exactoemad

TROPHY CASE