Watch this when
What causes insomnia? - Dan Kwartler
Lying in bed trying harder to sleep? That's the trap.
Who it's for
The lesson explains insomnia as hyperarousal and shows how worrying about sleep feeds the cycle.
Tired, wired and frustrated; worried about not sleeping→Calmer, understanding the cycle, with a plan for tonight
Feelings it meets
What it is
In this animated TED-Ed lesson (2018) by educator Dan Kwartler, insomnia is presented as the world's most common sleep disorder and explained as a dysregulated stress response that keeps the brain in hyperarousal, with worry about losing sleep sustaining a vicious cycle.
Where to find it
Free on YouTube.
Before you start
Heads up: Brief mention of sleeping pill dependence.
Age: Not rated (suggested 13+)
Begin the morning by saying to thyself, I shall meet with the busybody, the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial.Marcus Aurelius, The Thoughts of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Book 2 (tr. George Long)
