The Messages of Insomnia
The Unexpected Benefits of Insomnia—and How Craniosacral Therapy Can Help
Insomnia is often seen as a frustrating and exhausting experience—and rightly so. However, sometimes occasional insomnia may have surprising upsides, particularly when it comes to mental clarity, creativity, and self-awareness.
The Unexpected Benefits of Insomnia
While chronic sleep deprivation can be frustrating and even have serious health consequences, sometimes it might offer certain benefits. Your insomnia may even by triggered by unmet subconscious needs. During your next sleepless night consider what else you might find while the rest of the world dreams, like the following:
Enhanced Creativity: Insomniacs often report racing thoughts and heightened mental activity. Though disruptive at night, this increased brain activity can fuel bursts of creative thinking and problem-solving.
Deeper Self-Reflection: Quiet nighttime hours can create space for introspection. Some people find that insomnia encourages them to reflect on their emotions, life goals, or unresolved issues. This is one of those unmet needs that may be keeping you up, even though you don’t realize it. Try using this time to journal. Write 2 - 5 pages of free-streaming thought and see what comes out of it. It may very well clear your mind enough that you can get back to sleep.
Hydration This is a little less of a benefit and a little more of a heads up. Your body does a great deal of its maintenance while you are sleeping. In order to do this, you need to be hydrated. Your body may be keeping you awake in the hopes that you will give it the hydration it desperately needs to clean and maintain your body. Place a full glass of water by your bed and when you inexplicably wake up, take several gulps and try to go back to sleep. If you don’t wish to be woken up by, say, a bulging bladder, then try to make a point to stay hydrated more during the day.
That said, these silver linings don’t make insomnia desirable. For those seeking gentle, non-invasive relief, craniosacral therapy (CST) has emerged as a promising holistic approach.
How Craniosacral Therapy Can Improve Insomnia
Craniosacral therapy uses hands-on treatment with a light touch to release tensions deep in the body, particularly around the central nervous system. This subtle approach encourages the body’s natural healing mechanisms, promoting physical and emotional balance.
Here’s how CST may help improve insomnia:
Nervous System Regulation: CST helps shift the body out of “fight or flight” mode and into the parasympathetic “rest and digest” state, which is crucial for falling and staying asleep.
Stress and Tension Relief: Many cases of insomnia are stress-related. By easing muscle tension and calming the mind, CST can make it easier to transition into restful sleep.
Improved Sleep Patterns: Regular sessions may help reset disrupted sleep cycles by improving cranial rhythm and circulation of cerebrospinal fluid, which plays a key role in brain detoxification during sleep.
Emotional Release: Craniosacral therapy can help surface and gently release emotional blocks that may be contributing to insomnia, such as unresolved grief, anxiety, or trauma.
In essence, while occasional insomnia may offer a strange kind of mental clarity, long-term sleep issues deserve compassionate care. Craniosacral therapy offers a gentle, supportive pathway to more restful nights—without medication or side effects.
If you're struggling with sleep and looking for a holistic approach, it might be worth lying down—not just in bed, but on a craniosacral table.
This is personal note I shared with a friend who was struggling with insomnia:
One thought I had on the insomnia: what if, during these periods of insomnia, instead of fighting it, you look at it as an opportunity, a special time you have completely to yourself to give yourself love and self-care. What if you got up and went to your favorite chair and wrote in a journal or worked on gentle stretching? What if you asked yourself what you need at that time? They don't call it the witching hour for nothing. The wee hours of the night can be potent times of healing. It might be an important part of your own recovery.
When I was recovering from my spinal issues, there were some very scary moments because I didn't know what was going to happen and the road forward looked…not good. Often I would awake in the middle of the night my mind and heart racing, checking the clock every few minutes. Finally, I just started going to my living room and meditating, or journaling or doing light stretches, or praying. Not knowing exactly what to do, I just did what I could, without focusing on the results but hoping for the best, ready to accept what came next. One night, my perception of what was happening started to change. The whole experience tore me apart and forced me to examine my life and who I was, what I was letting control me and what needed letting go. I started seeing my experience as a portal to something better, whether I would recover physically or not. One day, I was with my family at a little store in Puerto Penasco, Mexico and I saw this ceramic (below image), all covered in dust on a shelf. I was awed because it seemed to depict what was happening to me. I was being broken apart, stripped to make room for a more authentic, spiritual me to emerge. This was several months before I was introduced to Osteopathy and Craniosacral Therapy. I have that sun hanging on the wall in my living room and in moments of challenge, when it catches my eye, it reminds me of the journey I'm really on, that I believe we are all really on. We don't always know where it leads. Sometimes those middle of the night bouts of sleeplessness can be an offering to a rare time to really nurture ourselves.
The Unexpected Benefits of Insomnia—and How Craniosacral Therapy Can Help
Insomnia is often seen as a frustrating and exhausting experience—and rightly so. However, some experts suggest that occasional insomnia may have surprising upsides, particularly when it comes to mental clarity, creativity, and self-awareness.
The Unexpected Benefits of Insomnia
While chronic sleep deprivation can have serious health consequences, occasional bouts of insomnia might offer certain benefits:
Enhanced Creativity: Insomniacs often report racing thoughts and heightened mental activity. Though disruptive at night, this increased brain activity can fuel bursts of creative thinking and problem-solving.
Deeper Self-Reflection: Quiet nighttime hours can create space for introspection. Some people find that insomnia encourages them to reflect on their emotions, life goals, or unresolved issues.
Productive Solitude: For those who channel their wakefulness constructively, insomnia can offer rare, uninterrupted time for journaling, planning, or engaging in hobbies that are otherwise sidelined during busy days.
Greater Empathy: Experiencing insomnia can foster compassion toward others who struggle with sleep, mental health, or chronic fatigue, encouraging deeper interpersonal understanding.
That said, these silver linings don’t make insomnia desirable. For those seeking gentle, non-invasive relief, craniosacral therapy (CST) has emerged as a promising holistic approach.
How Craniosacral Therapy Can Improve Insomnia
Craniosacral therapy is a hands-on treatment that uses light touch to release tensions deep in the body, particularly around the central nervous system. This subtle approach encourages the body’s natural healing mechanisms, promoting physical and emotional balance.
Here’s how CST may help improve insomnia:
Nervous System Regulation: CST helps shift the body out of “fight or flight” mode and into the parasympathetic “rest and digest” state, which is crucial for falling and staying asleep.
Stress and Tension Relief: Many cases of insomnia are stress-related. By easing muscle tension and calming the mind, CST can make it easier to transition into restful sleep.
Improved Sleep Patterns: Regular sessions may help reset disrupted sleep cycles by improving cranial rhythm and circulation of cerebrospinal fluid, which plays a key role in brain detoxification during sleep.
Emotional Release: Craniosacral therapy can help surface and gently release emotional blocks that may be contributing to insomnia, such as unresolved grief, anxiety, or trauma.
In essence, while occasional insomnia may offer a strange kind of mental clarity, long-term sleep issues deserve compassionate care. Craniosacral therapy offers a gentle, supportive pathway to more restful nights—without medication or side effects.
If you're struggling with sleep and looking for a holistic approach, it might be worth lying down—not just in bed, but on a craniosacral table.
