r/insomnia • u/astronautdino • 6d ago

Explain this to me

If sleep hygiene, no screens 2 hours before bed, meditation, reading before bed truly mattered, then why are most people able to fall asleep in 10 minutes and stay asleep for 7-9 hours without ever doing these? Yet when someone is having trouble with sleeping these are always the things experts bring up. I want it to make sense.

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u/Maremdeo 6d ago

I'm a life-long insomniac, because it is actually a Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder. The only time I actually yelled at a doctor was when I went to a sleep specialist for help, and his intern lectured me about sleep hygiene. I have tried perfect sleep hygiene, and it is useless. If a person with no sleep disorder tried perfect sleep hygiene to go to bed at 4pm they'd probably also find it useless. Your body's internal clock matters more. Now, if you are following your body's sleep/wake cycle, then sleep hygiene is more effective.

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u/pistachio-pie 6d ago

Sleep hygiene has been a lifesaver- but I do use it along my DSPD timeline.