In this Q&A episode, I answer three powerful listener questions that touch on some of the most common — and confusing — experiences in sleep recovery.

We explore:

🌀 What actually counts as a sleep effort — and why trying to avoid everything might be holding you back 🎵 How to relate differently to intrusive songs (or looping thoughts) that show up at night 🔁 The fear of being “back at square one” — and why that feeling doesn’t mean you’ve lost progress

Whether you're navigating insomnia, anxiety around sleep, or just trying to trust your body again, I hope these reflections bring clarity and compassion to your journey.

Let’s unpack these tricky moments together — and remind ourselves that recovery doesn’t have to be perfect to be real.

In this conversation, Sarah shares her personal recovery journey through postpartum insomnia, shedding light on the emotional toll, sleep anxiety, and societal pressures. She opens up about the lack of resources for mothers facing insomnia and the importance of self-kindness, spirituality, and self-parenting in the recovery process.

With Sarah, we explored the multifaceted nature of recovery, discussed inner work, somatic experiences, and the role of emotional understanding. We dived into the challenges of navigating setbacks, the significance of self-compassion – especially for parents – and how fear can be an opportunity for personal growth.

In this episode, I’m discussing one of the strangest yet most common experiences for those who fear not sleeping (a.k.a. insomnia) – hypnic awareness. It’s often considered one of the most frustrating parts of the struggle, which is understandable. I’ve experienced it myself, and I’ll be sharing what helped me overcome it. Hope you find it helpful!

Find me on:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/fearless.sleep

Youtube: www.youtube.com/@FearlessSleep

Website: www.sleepcoach.sk

This episode is here to offer some clarity for those moments when we feel stuck in our insomnia recovery journey but can’t quite figure out why.

If you've been feeling overwhelmed with the information on insomnia recovery, this letter may just be for you. Read it in a text form: https://sleeptalks.substack.com/p/when-knowing-too-much-gets-in-the

Fearless Sleep Letters is a personal project where I share deep insights into the insomnia recovery process. To give these letters second life, I’ve decided to create a series of audio recordings where I read some of them aloud. The first letter in this series is "How to work with residual anxious thoughts and feelings." To read my other letters, visit https://sleeptalks.substack.com/

What are speed bumps? Are they necessary for insomnia recovery? And how to navigate one when it happens? Check out my conversation with Coach Aly who shares her personal experience and insights from her journey. ❤️

Sleep coach Cristian and I dive deep into one of the toughest concepts of insomnia recovery – befriending wakefulness. We discuss what it means, how to embrace it, and the role of self-kindness in the process. Enjoy the episode, and don’t forget to follow for more insights on insomnia recovery!