Why trauma can make nights feel different

• Card 1

  Sleep requires the nervous system to feel safe enough to let its guard down. For someone whose alarm system has been shaped by trauma, that letting-go can feel risky rather than restful — the body may stay on alert precisely when it's meant to be winding down.

• Card 2

  This can show up as

  • Hyperarousal — feeling wired, restless or “switched on” at bedtime
  • Difficulty switching off a racing mind, even when exhausted
  • Hypervigilance — checking locks, listening for sounds, needing lights or doors a certain way
  • Sleeping lightly, or waking at the smallest noise
  • A general sense that being unconscious and unguarded feels unsafe

  These responses made sense at some point — often when going into a deep, undefended sleep genuinely wasn't safe. Understanding this can reduce some of the frustration or self-blame that builds up around poor sleep.

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