09/14/2026
Sleep is usually the first thing PTSD takes and the last thing to come back.
A few things that tend to help, none of which require buying anything:
Get up at the same time every day, even after a bad night. Wake time anchors the whole system. Bedtime doesn't.
If you're lying there awake past twenty minutes or so, get up. Go sit somewhere dim and boring until you're actually sleepy. Staying in bed frustrated teaches your brain that bed is where you fight.
Keep the room cold and dark, and put the phone across the room.
None of this is dramatic and none of it works overnight. Sleep tends to come back slowly, in a way you only notice looking backward a few weeks later.
If nightmares are the main problem, that's worth bringing to a therapist directly. There are specific approaches for it.
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