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?

Me too. It helps reset my brain by focussing on one 'thing'.

I prefer to think of it as a type of meditation rather than maladaptive daydreaming.

I've been doing it since I was in infants - the first ones were about doing PE in the school hall and being brilliant at it, somersaults over the wooden horse and everything. In real life, I was, er, not brilliant

I have a whole other life that I live in my head (always have done, my real life has always been shit), so I just retreat into that for a while..

I write to get this out of my system. I have several entire populated worlds in my head, they seem like parallel worlds at times. They've always been there, though they change and evolve. I sound proper weird now don't I?

As a kid I had a long running one where I lived in Des and Daphne's house from neighbours, and had quadruplet daughters

Might try and recreate it tonight

Definitely- I live an entire seperate life in my head with my celeb crush and always continue with the 'plot' when I am going to sleep.

Like the OP, if I have other things on my mind, I struggle to concentrate on it but it helps me calm my.mind by trying to keep coming back to it.

Yes! I've done this since I was a child. I have a few stories and I return to them, pick them up in different places, and embellish them in different ways. Sometimes I will be asleep in just a minute or two.

You have to practice the same story for it to work, in my experience. It lulls your brain into a familiar pattern, I think, so you simply tune out and drift away.

It is SO effective I've actually taught my DD (now 11) to do the same, and she also finds it effective at switching her brain off.

I guess the principle is like counting sheep, but it is a lot more entertaining.

Yes, I do this. My mind goes ten to the dozen when I lie down- I often go over things, sometimes from years ago or things from that day that have bothered me. I never just fall straight to sleep.

I do this every night! I position myself in a TV show or novel and usually build on it for a few nights until I get bored and move onto something else. I'm very pleased to hear other people do it too 😄

I suggested that DH try it once when he couldn't sleep but apparently it was counter productive because his story was so good he didn't want to go to sleep. Obviously a better story teller than me

@Claymorekick

Definitely- I live an entire seperate life in my head with my celeb crush and always continue with the 'plot' when I am going to sleep.

Like the OP, if I have other things on my mind, I struggle to concentrate on it but it helps me calm my.mind by trying to keep coming back to it.

(In my head) I lived in a really nice house in Highgate with Jason Donovan and our three gifted children for many years.

My childhood bullies or estranged family would visit and witness me getting a fabulous new move roles or having a laugh with my celeb pals, they are always slightly jealous.

Jason Donovan has been interchangeable with many other celeb crushes over the years.

The life in my head is always far preferable to my crappy real one.

I think I have major issues.

I have heard of this as guided dreaming - as many pp say maladaptive day dreams are when they interfere with normal life - this is an aid to sleep
I am colonizing Mars by the by

Yep, I win the lottery and play that out

I suggested that DH try it once when he couldn't sleep but apparently it was counter productive because his story was so good he didn't want to go to sleep. Obviously a better story teller than me

This really made me laugh And trust a bloke to have to have the best daydream!

@Shapiro

It’s a form of maladaptive day dreaming

No, it’s not.

It’s the bridge between day dreaming and dreaming.

I do the same, however I always read before I sleep, even if it is only a page or a few words. It takes my mind from real life.

What is stranger though and nobody I have ever spoken to has experienced this... Is that once I reach dream sleep - not sure how to word it... But I go straight back into the dream from the night before, be it good or bad.
Only then, when back where I was am I properly asleep.

My dreams are never ending, like an ongoing saga. I remember a lot of them, but only when I am into that sleep zone do I enter where I left off.

Yep, I do this, and I also write for a hobby/working on being published. But my bedtime plots are very different from my writing - though some of them are fan fiction of those stories.

There's one in particular since I was a teen that I just need to play out a short amount of before I'm sent off to sleep. But like you, OP, sometimes I find it difficult to "latch on" to the story (especially when I had Long Covid mind fog).

Sometimes it was stories - these days I find trying to 'walk through' my primary school, secondary school, university shared house or parts of university (all of which sometimes pop up in my dreams) in my head is good for falling asleep as it leads easily into dreaming.

@catinboots123 Des and Daphne - that is brilliant! Made me chuckle 😁 Mark Little aka Joe Mangle appears in lots of mine. I did meet him once 25 years ago in Brighton but I wouldn't have thought enough of an impact to keep turning up in me sleep.

Sheila 🤣

I also have ADHD and rumination stops me getting to sleep. My go-to is 'first month after humungous lottery win'. I focus on a different aspect each night - who to give money to and how much, first holiday, designing my new house, designing my new holiday how, how to make sure the money doesn't get frittered away or make. my kids into brats!

new holiday home

I do exactly this op. I am autistic too, like a previous PP.

I thought I was the only one who did this! I have all sorts of stories before bed, I'm usually the hero and do something amazing in them

@WinterDeWinter

I also have ADHD and rumination stops me getting to sleep. My go-to is 'first month after humungous lottery win'. I focus on a different aspect each night - who to give money to and how much, first holiday, designing my new house, designing my new holiday how, how to make sure the money doesn't get frittered away or make. my kids into brats!

That's way too abstract for me. So many possibilities and options and what might go wrong and what ifs and things to think about and consider and... you get the point.

It's exhausting being in my head.

I don't know anyone who does this apart from me! I have to do it every night, since I was a little girl. I couldn't put it into words what I do but you've done it well. It's usually what I'm reading or watching or sometimes I just imagine I'm in a tent in the middle of a forest.