Lots of us have been there. It's 3 a.m. you're tossing and you're turning you can't fall asleep and you're starting to freak out

You're thinking of all the bad things that could happen if you don't fall asleep.

This happened to me a few years ago on a work trip and I had a full-fledged panic attack

after five days of not sleeping very much at all.

I actually thought I was dying. I went to a

colleague and I was like, oh my God, how long does it take to die from not sleeping?

And I was completely serious. And it turns out I'm not alone.

Those are comments that I've heard probably a thousand times or more.

That's Stephen Amaira.

He's a psychologist at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston,

and he sees a lot of patients who struggle with insomnia.

Most people would like to be able to get into bed and in a very natural and self-regulating way

they would just like to be able to close their eyes and go to sleep.

But when that doesn't happen and you really can't fall asleep, your thoughts can start to run rampant.

I mean they can start galloping.

Why is my brain being so stupid?

If I don't get to sleep now, then I'm only going to have gotten four hours of sleep

tomorrow.

Okay, it's been a minute, you're not asleep.

Now it's been an hour, now it's been six hours.

Shaking my sister at the world or shaking my fist to God or whatever is kind of like,

you know, why me sort of thing.

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