Yes I need therapy. Yes I’m working on it 😆
In: Biology
Going to sleep had two fases. First your body makes a chemical indicating you are going to sleep. It makes you more relaxed and it starts the production of another chemical that will cause the actual sleeping. If you stress, the first chemical won’t be produced. That’s because if you are stressed your body must be ready to fight off that lion or other danger. The second chemical needs you to be relaxed enough and don’t have to much brain activity in your prefrontal cortex.
This is why bedtime stories are useful, they distract you from thinking about actively forcing yourself to sleep.
Anyway, recorded books playing while waiting for sleep is helpful.
From an evolutionary perspective, being stressed makes your body get itself ready to respond to the stressor. The problem is that stressors used to be significant things, like stuff that could kill us. So our bodies fuel us with necessary shit to stay alert and survive. Our modern stress is a lot less hazardous, but our bodies don’t recognize the difference. They just know stress, and they respond accordingly
Stress keeps you awake. From an evolutionary standpoint it makes a lot of sense. You don’t want to sleep with a lion outside your hut. You have to stay awake and protect your family.
When you NEED sleep, it’s usually because of something stressful happening the next day.
The “just fall asleep already” thought doesn’t cause you not to fall asleep. It’s the stress your body/mind is under that keeps you awake.
Because you’re thinking about all the reasons why you need to sleep, which makes mental stress
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