Does anyone else do this in order to fall asleep?

[ldontWanna]

I need (and I do mean need) to roleplay in my head before I go to sleep. A bit like a bedtime story. Mostly inspired from whatever book or tv show I'm currently reading/watching . When I have a bad night's sleep/can't fall asleep it's normally because my brain is buzzing so I can't focus on the "story" and keep coming out of it. Even when I'm exhausted I still do it but it might only take a few minutes before I drift off. Reading or listening to something before bed is not enough.

It came up today when talking to a friend and she said it was really weird and has never heard of it. She's the head on pillow , fast asleep type though.

So any others that need to do this to fall asleep?

Yep most of the time. I've done this since childhood. Sometimes It'll be influenced by whatever tv show or film I've just watched and I feature in it 🤣😳

@Shapiro

It’s a form of maladaptive day dreaming

That doesn't sound good.

I am pretty sure that’s unusual though judging from the responses on here maybe I’m wrong.
I, and everyone in my family put their head on the pillow, snuggle up and go to sleep.
If ever I have had problems sleeping I find that making love induces sleep afterwards. Perhaps try that?

Oh how interesting! I don't any more but you've reminded me that I always did this as a child. I had ongoing fantasy situations / stories that could go on for weeks and often really looked forward to returning to them each night.

I don't really know when they stopped. I think they morphed into sexual fantasies / stories, then became less frequent as replaced by actual relationships, or being too tired and just needing sleep, or listening to radio, reading etc and just drifting off.

I do this. It's only maladaptive if it gets in the way of the rest of your life.

Oh and it can't be just any story. It needs to be one I really enjoyed/gripped me. If it was just a bit meh or boring it doesn't work as it doesn't flow in my head either and I lose focus. So I always keep a few tried and tested books /tv shows on standby even if it's been ages since I last read/watched them.

It's great I'm not alone and so many people do this in some form or another. Fascinating to hear about the different forms it can take too, even if some of them wouldn't work for me or it would make things worse.

Yes sort of. I have adhd and struggle with sleep, usually due to ruminating - when I catch my mind doing this, I plan my next trip in as much detail as I can (nothing even booked yet but think about places to stop, best order to do them in, etc) and keep dragging myself back to nice things and thoughts. The 'one day' trip is an easy go to.

I've done this for years. I tell stories in my head about my life as Mrs Simon Cowell.

I'd say it was more like meditation than maladaptive daydeaming.

Making love 🤣 With who ? I'm single and quite like it that way

Yep usually the same few scenarios in my head. It’s comforting. I’ve done it since I was a teenager at least.

I have a load of alternative existences that I pick from to run through scenes, or just talk about in my head. On a good night I’ll wake up not remembering even starting to think about things, on a worse one I’ll do it for ages. I think it just stops me from spiralling into anxious thoughts about real life.

Yes I do, have done it for as long as I remember.

Me too! I do period dramas 🤣

@mumsiedarlingrevolta

I play that I have an endless budget but can't move house and do all the dreamy fixing up in my mind-such a treat!

Yes this is mine. I do up houses in my head. A family member has a holiday home in Greece where we've been lucky to stay a few times. That's my usual "project".

@Esspee

I am pretty sure that’s unusual though judging from the responses on here maybe I’m wrong. I, and everyone in my family put their head on the pillow, snuggle up and go to sleep. If ever I have had problems sleeping I find that making love induces sleep afterwards. Perhaps try that?

😬 Doesn't help. Normally makes me more awake anyways. Doesn't matter what I do right before, or how knackered I actually am or how busy my day was , if I don't do it I can't fall asleep.

Actually I lie. When DD was a newborn I didn't really need it, but I could fall sleep standing up during the worst of it.

I've always done this.

Yes I do it (& don’t think there’s a problem with it).
I have a few different stories that I can choose from and they change / develop over time.

Sometimes I just can’t get into it and then I struggle to get to sleep. I’ll use sleep stories on the Calm app if it’s really bad.

I enjoy my own storytelling though, it takes me out of my everyday problems/ anxieties.

@Shapiro

It’s a form of maladaptive day dreaming

It annoys me that it's called MALadaptive daydreaming as that implies something negative. I actually think it's quite healthy.

I've always done this, like you I need to be utterly absorbed in the story before I can fall asleep, think it's a way off pushing any real life anxieties out of my mind. Also works well for falling asleep again after a nightmare.

I either walk myself through my lottery winning house and imagine myself (as best I can because I struggle to see pictures in my head) all safe in the cosy, warm living room with a storm outside and rain lashing against the window or I am the fairytale princess living a lovely married life with the prince.

Sure do! Ever since I was wild enough to remember. I’ve inserted myself in almost every book or tv or movie I liked at some point. It might be for one scene, or I might play out the whole thing over months/years. And not just books/movies - other scenarios too, whatever I think up.

When I was a kid, I used to try and stop as I thought it couldn’t be good. It wasn’t until I read a Mumsnet post on it (it seems to pop up now and then) that I found others do it too!

Link to another post below.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. Hasn’t hurt me (or any of the others on these threads!) so far. I do sometimes think of Professor Dimbledore’s words: “it doesn’t do to dwell in dreams, Harry, and forget to live” (quote may be wrong), so I try and make sure I am not saying no to a social life etc in order to give more time to this. But 20 mins every night before bed? Bah! That’s nothing and I love it.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3917767-To-think-daydream-is-a-perfect-waste-of-time

*wild enough = young enough

My anxiety rears its head when I'm trying to fall asleep so I do this too, I find it occupies my mind without making me anxious. I dont know why but I quite like post apocalypse type thoughts where my family and I have survived and are living in the Scottish Highlands, living off the land and I'm safe, tucked up cosy in bed. My other favourite is that I'm a make up artist and an A list celeb falls in love with me and sweeps me off my feet. So random!

Yep have done this for ages! You are far from alone obviously!