Managing Your Stormy Insomnia

Have you ever had a harder time resting when a storm was moving in? If so, you aren’t alone.

One night last week, during a lighter part of my sleep cycle, I was flooded with plans about tasks to do the next day.

Now usually, thoughts like these would emerge in the back of my mind—kind of nibbling on my brain and hoping I’d wake enough to pay attention to them. And usually, I can just focus on my current Restful Insomnia technique, and those thoughts recede into rest.

Not that night. My mind, emotions, body, were immediately awake. Even the most trivial email seemed urgent to send, ASAP.

Rest? Hah! My attention had no interest in that.

Why was insomnia rearing its head?

• Was my to-do list more overwhelming? Nope.
• Did I eat too much chocolate? Nah.
• Was I overly stressed about work, family, or myself? No more than usual.

So what was going on that made me feel so awake???

The thunder replies

A clap of thunder sparked an inspiration. A storm was approaching, bringing some relief during a long drought. But maybe that storm was also bringing in a front of wakefulness as well.

Turns out that changes in barometric or atmospheric pressure from storms (such as when areas of low pressure move into areas of higher pressure) can also affect your body. With an upcoming storm, some people might experience:

• Joint pain
• Sinus headaches or migraines
• Changes in blood sugar levels
• Insomnia…and for Restful Insomnia, more restlessness

No matter how citified we get, our bodies are part of nature. In this case, responding to the atmosphere.

What to do when the storm hits?

The weather is shifting—you hear the forecast, see lightning, or feel it in your body. And you’re awake, very awake. What to do?

You can’t change your environment, but does that mean you have to surrender your need for rest?

Well, just knowing that weather can intensify your wakefulness can help. Why? Because then you can change your approach to what happens during insomnia.

First, it helps you take the thoughts and feelings that arise less personally. For example, that urge to send email right away? It’s easier to step away from the inner demand and say, “That’s not really urgent, it’s just the weather talking.”

Second, you can accept that deep rest might not come easily until the storm has moved in. However, you still rest the best you can.

That night the storm came in, for instance, I guessed that as my body got used to the change of barometric pressure, it would be easier to let go more deeply.

So I just kept practicing Restful Insomnia techniques and waited. My hunch turned out to be true. When the thunder faded, it was easier to move into a deeper rest (and sleep). And meantime I replenished myself with the lighter rest, and the night wasn’t spent in angst.

As you know, Restful Insomnia won’t make the response to the storm system go away. But it helps you to be at less effect of the triggers of insomnia, including the change of weather.

That way, during the next day—be it sunny or stormy—you’ll have the energy you need to do the tasks that are on your list.