Did you ever not sleep at all before an important appointment?

I recently discovered (genius, I know) no caffeine after about 4 pm and I sleep like a log.

You really need sleep @LornaLove. You need energy for the appointment.

I know before a big events people can be too excited to sleep, but I think it’s better to sleep and gain more energy for tomorrow.

Maybe you can try thinking of the success of that appointment. Focus on the feeling of satisfaction. See if it helps you sleep.

I am plagued by chronic insomnia and use audio books and an old-fashioned Walkman. I listen in bed, in the dark, lying down, with my eyes shut, no matter how wide awake I feel. It turns my brain off, and often I do fall asleep. I am never without CDs of a novel by my bedside.

No, but I have been in situations where I get very little sleep before something important. You should turn everything off and lay down in your bed. Focus on one thing with your eyes closed, say carrot over and over and picture one, or whatever you pick to focus on. Another option is read something, a real paper something for 20 minutes, then turn everything off and get into your sleep position.

The good news is, research shows that a lot of people sleep more than they think. They will report only sleeping 3 hours when they actually slept 6. But, if you have been on the Internet all night your report would most likely be accurate. The people who misreport are trying to sleep lying in bed.

If you usually do sleep during these hours at some point tomorrow you will probably start to crash. The brain actually will “nap” suddenly, momentarily, which makes driving dangerous. If you are in the middle of a conversation it won’t happen, but driving, because of its hypnotic triggers in certain driving conditions, can be dangerous.

Yes many times.

I just keep busy hoping to stay amped until I can fit in a nap. I also listen to guided meditation sometimes it calms me enough I can sleep and if not it helps me hold it together staying relatively calm and focused.

Good luck at your appt

In my ad agency years I made many, many creative presentations to clients, and I remember spending many a night tossing and turning.

If I know I have major anxiety about the next day’s events, I take a sleep aid.

Benadryl

Feedback: and thanks for your answers. I took advice from @gailcalled and @Mimishu1995 as those were the last posts I saw. I put on a Youtube, train sound (8 hours) by Brad McBride. I really was not into the idea of turning off the light and laying there. I did sleep shortly after posting that. Not enough and was a long tiring day! I also did take the advice of seeing the appointment going well. Thanks again for all the input.

@LornaLove Happy to help, and glad that the appointment has been successful :)