[claylimo]

I'm responding to this since I believe I was in your shoes once:

I used to have middle of the night wake ups (intense anxiety or pain in the chest, or waking up and being unable to return to sleep)... then, I got very intensively into meditation. I didn't get into meditation to help with sleep though.

When I would wake up in the middle of the night then would do a body scanning technique. Scanning through the body and investigating the emotional state in the body. Really this is about bringing the attention of the mind to awful feelings. The more you fend off negative feelings the worse your life your overall well being will become (at least based on my experience). Initially when I started doing this body scans might last an hour. Body scanning is not fending off negative thoughts but instead embracing them. In a lot of ways it is like exposure therapy. So over time the body scans got shorter and shorter. Eventually I switched to a noting style of practice and at times I would wake up in the middle of the night and very rapidly note whatever was happening in my experience then almost immediately return to sleep.

So, while I still do sometimes wake up in the middle of the night, the duration of wakefulness is typically much shorter compared to how it used to be. When I look at my mom she has a kind of similar sleep pattern as me and nowadays only sleeps around 4 hours a night.

[liamwire]

You may well have already, but if not, please consider getting tested for sleep apnea. Waking up in an anxious jolt, with chest pain, or a feeling of breathlessness, are all warning signs that you’re breathing is stopping during the night.

It may be a waste of time, or it may save years of your life. All the best.

[ciwchris]

Thank you for sharing. I've tried body scanning a few times but I found my mind turns it into a timer, "I'm almost through my body scan and I not any closer to sleep." Mine only lasted 15-20 minutes. The negative thought patterns is what CBT helped me with.

[claylimo]

I had an intensive daily meditation practice at the time which made it easier to do while in the sleep posture. It's definitely not a panacea since everyone has different needs.

Overtime I learned a lot of different techniques to help to bring my mind back into the body. I became obsessed because of how I had been avoiding my feelings for my whole life.

For me, I got extremely curious about what I was feeling either good or bad. That overall curiosity and desperation in a way forced me to pry open the dirty and grittier parts of my feelings and let them go.

I hope CBT or other techniques continue to help you. Definitely curious to know what other techniques may work for you.