[focus & concentration] I can't focus before falling asleep while fronting anymore

[Guest]

When going to bed fronting, I used to do all the thinking and that guaranteed me being the one dreaming (from my POV, not a shared dream) and Miri going inactive till I accidentally bring her back.

 

In the past few days I haven't been able to think at all while falling asleep and it's as if our brain had ''skipped'' a step in the process of falling asleep (not really, but I don't know how to explain it). It used to be like this: I go to bed and let my mind wander for a while to get relaxed, then I focus really hard on something to keep my mind active while Miri doesn't pay attention to what I am thinking, then I start dreaming and when I wake up, Miri reports feeling like she doesn't exist. Now it seems our brain has decided that the step where I focus on keeping myself busy isn't important and has completely skipped it, going directly into hypnagogia where I am not even myself.

 

No matter how hard I try to focus, I can't do it anymore and always find myself constantly forgetting what I'm supposed to be thinking or not thinking at all while still conscious. I tried narrating to myself to stay focused and the next thing I know is that I'm awake without having dreamed at all (the body still dreams but I am not there). We thought it might be that the body felt really tired without apparent reason and that made us fall asleep so quickly, but I tried to have Miri do all the thinking while falling asleep and she could do it perfectly fine, it's just me and I don't know why. 

 

Any help?

[Joy]

Could you read a book?

[Guest]

The plan is for me to fall asleep while focusing on something so Miri goes inactive *and we hopefully switch* (we have a hard time making her go inactive while completely awake but it works wonders when we try to sleep). I can't do that if I am not even trying to fall asleep and I know very well a book will keep us active.

[Kurisutina]

Immersing yourself from your own POV regularly is generally a good thing if you want to get more frequent dreams from your POV. Like Joy said, reading a book is probably a good tool if you need something to immerse yourself in.

[Ranger]

I find that if I front for most of the day and then go to bed, automatically I will usually think to myself instead of Cat thinking to herself. Sometimes I can trigger this by fronting for the last few hours of the day before bed, but it's not as common.

 

Cat's mother reads to wind down and later sleep after some time. Cat can hypnotize herself with a story idea, but then she won't fall asleep, to the point where she stays up by accident. Normally though, it takes 15-30 minutes for Cat to fall asleep, so those may be more effective for you than for us.

 

If you want to keep yourself awake before dozing off... Maybe eat some candy or sugar? Another thing you can try is exercising before bed. Both of these can mess with your ability to sleep or backfire though, and this would be a last resort sort of thing. Getting more sleep or taking longer naps would be the most helpful and the healthiest solutions.

 

Since I struggle to fall asleep fronting, I usually give control back to Cat, the only exception being a failed switching attempt. I don't normally get the opportunity to front while falling asleep.

[Guest]

The problem with reading a book is that Miri will start thinking about what I am reading and won't go inactive not matter how boring she thinks what I'm reading is, by focusing on something I mean mentally. 

 

I find that if I front for most of the day and then go to bed, automatically I will usually think to myself instead of Cat thinking to herself. Sometimes I can trigger this by fronting for the last few hours of the day before bed, but it's not as common.

 

Miri tried to stay quiet and not think at all for a whole week and failed miserably. Maybe I should try to narrate to myself all the time. Going to bed fronting is enough for me to be the one waking up though.

 

Getting more sleep or taking longer naps would be the most helpful and the healthiest solutions.

 

I should try that since the body won't be tired when we go to sleep at night. I don't know how effective it will be in letting me focus on myself, it's seems like the problem lies within me and not the body.

[Ranger]

I should try that since the body won't be tired when we go to sleep at night. I don't know how effective it will be in letting me focus on myself, it's seems like the problem lies within me and not the body.

 

Since this started becoming a problem for the last few days and isn't the norm for you, my first guess is there's something different about your situation, like being sleep deprived or extra tired for whatever reason. Even something like a change in when you go to bed can throw you off your normal schedule, especially since the holidays are rolling in.

[Guest]

We haven't been doing anything out of the ordinary, same daily routine and same sleep schedule. If it means something, I've been feeling like throwing up frequently since this started happening. But if it's a problem with the body, then why does it seems like it only affects me?

[GrayTheCat]

We haven't been doing anything out of the ordinary, same daily routine and same sleep schedule. If it means something, I've been feeling like throwing up frequently since this started happening. But if it's a problem with the body, then why does it seems like it only affects me?

 

Before one of Ranger's presentations he did for school, he was so stressed and anxious he made the body nauseous. It wasn't until I calmed him down and moved him into dormancy the nausea went away. I don't normally get sick off of extreme anxiety from school, but it did happen once and I threw up that morning.

 

It could be something like that- if you're anxious or stressed your body could be presenting that, and it can be specific to you.

 

If not, I have no idea if certain headmates are more sensitive to the body's health or not, not including being switched in / out.

[Guest]

If it's anxiety related then pretty sure it's something subconscious. We'll see.